What Really Matters
by Brinvixen
Summary: Edward has always been the lonely Cullen. Alice believes Bella Swan could make the difference. Edward believes otherwise. Are they a perfect match? Or is this a match for disaster? Can they handle the drama their relationship may bring? Newest title!
1. Prologue, Invitation

**Hopefully this is the last time I change the title. Credit goes to Objective, who, like a good reviewer should, inspired me to do so.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters and components.**

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_Alice – "I do it because I love my older brother, and because I want him to be just as happy as I am with Jasper, and as Emmett is with Rosalie as and Carlisle is with Esme. It must get overly tiresome to have to deal with so much intimacy in his coven, and then return to a life of loneliness. And maybe Eddie likes to act like he is extremely unbothered by his state of bachelorhood, but I know the man better. So I do this because I am on his side, and his well-being is my well-being. I only have good intentions at heart."_

**Prologue, Invitation**

_**Bella**_

Okay, truth be told, I am more than just a little excited that freaking Alice Cullen wants to be my friend. Alice Cullen is certainly one of the most desired girls in the school, both by boys and girls. She's upbeat and friendly and incredibly stylish, which brings on the female appeal, while managing to be impossibly cute and rocks a short hair cut with so much confidence that you'd think her hair is longer than Rapunzel's. Not that it matters much for the male admirers, because Alice is obviously attached to Jasper, and they are obviously more than just friends.

With these things in mind, understand my shock, surprise and ultimately utter delight when _Alice Cullen _invites me to the movies this weekend to watch the Transformers sequel with the rest of her family. I am no more than average and plain Bella Swan: average looks, average appeal, average…everything. If Alice was going to choose a girlfriend at school, anyone would expect her to pick the best of the bunch…which admittedly would turn out to be her sister, Rosalie Cullen, who, too, was unfairly gorgeous, but in a much more intimidating way. And while Alice and I have exchange a couple of friendly words, and even laughs, in our shared Yearbook class, I never thought for a moment that she was seeing me as more than just a "classroom friend".

But Alice Cullen was inviting _me _to the movies with her. _And _her family.

"We're all going down to the local theater to watch Revenge of the Fallen this Saturday," Alice said to me, that bright and warm smile on her face. The genuineness of it made it impossible not to smile back. "And I was wondering if you wanted to tag along, if you don't already have other plans."

"Me?" I echoed hollowly, still in shock.

"Yes you silly," she said. "You're the only one standing here."

"Yes, but," I stopped myself, wondering how to word my surprise without sounding like a freak. "I guess it's just unexpected you'd want to hang out with me." _Good job Bella, that definitely doesn't make you sound like a freak._

"Why wouldn't I want to hang out with you?" Alice said casually. "You're cool."

I almost choked on my own spit. Alice Cullen thought _I _was cool? Had she recently suffered from traumatic head injury? I truly had no response to that statement except for more awkward opening and closing of my jaw. Thankfully, Alice ploughed on as if I wasn't gaping at her idiotically.

"I'll have Eddie come for you on Saturday," Alice suggested. "I'll be in the car too, just in case your dad is one of _those _dads." She gave me a knowing look.

My dad certainly _was _one of 'those' dads, but my mind was processing an earlier part of her statement. 'Eddie' as in Edward Cullen? Edward Cullen, as in, the only male obsession of my young life? I had dedicated so much time mentally loving Edward Cullen that I didn't have space for movie stars and singing sensations. Not that you would need Justin Timberlake or Zac Efron if you had Edward Cullen to yourself. He retained movie star beauty while sitting next to you in Biology class!

"So what do you think? You wanna hang?"

"Of course," I blurted out, rather unattractively. Alice giggled at my eagerness. I tried to regain my cool. "I mean, I might have to clear it with Dad first, but I can't see the problem."

"Well call me," Alice said. She looked at me patiently, and I realized this was the point where I took out my phone and punched in her number. I did such and she rattled of the digits easily. "I'm pretty much up at any time of the day, so you can contact me whenever."

"Okay."

"I'm really looking forward to this Bella." Alice said, her eagerness almost matching the eagerness I felt inside. "It should be fun."

"Right, fun," I said with a weak smile.

"I'm off to find Jazz, but call me okay?" And then Alice Cullen bounced off in the opposite direction of the hallway, leaving me in a state of stupor.

It almost seemed impossible, but I was staring at Alice's number on my cell phone screen. It almost seemed unbelievable, but Alice had just invited me to the movies this Saturday. It almost seemed unimaginable, but Edward Cullen – 'Eddie' – was going to pick me up to take me on said excursion.

_Breathe, Bella Swan. The Cullens are regular people, just like everyone else._

But even as I thought it, it seemed completely irrational. The Cullens were not regular people, they were like _superhumans._ All five of them – Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Edward, and Alice – were, for one, impossibly beautiful. None of them shared the physical features, save for flawless pale skin and the family gold-colored eyes. Emmett was tall and burly, with a thick frame like that of a football player. Rosalie was model-tall, model-thin, and supermodel beautiful with impossibly long, wavy blond hair. Jasper is tall and lean, with honey blond hair in adorable curls. And Alice resembled that of a pixie, what with the haircut paired with her short height and small frame.

And then beautiful Edward Cullen, stood a few inches over six feet tall, with broad shoulder and a slender middle. Slender as he was, his body looked hard with muscle. His hair curled in an attractively messy way and was bronze in color. His facial features were beyond perfection: straight nose, strong jawline, full lips. Everything about him screamed 'gorgeous', and he only added to that by dressing tastefully well.

Then, on top of their awesome physicality, the Cullens were shrouded with scandal. All five of them were siblings – technically adopted siblings – yet Jasper and Alice were hopelessly in love, as was Emmett and Rosalie. Strange, although 'adopted' explained why no one looked alike. But then you had to wonder, did Mr. and Mrs. Cullen just happen to stumble upon five kids with the same color eyes?

Strange, strange, strange.

Not that I was one for complaints: I was just as strange as the Cullens. I was a girl from Arizona with skin the same color as milk. I was very uninterested in style and fashion, and could care less about what my hair looked like after I woke up in the morning. I also had no grace, and was used to falling on my bum so many times that the ground and I are the best of friends. In addition to all of this, I live for the nerdy pleasures in life – like playing Guitar Hero and editing Wikipedia.

The surprise on why Alice Cullen chose to hang out with me must be more than understandable at this point. Regardless, the invite _did _happen, and I was in no position to reject the offer. My only friend at Forks High, Angela Webber, just recently snagged herself a boyfriend, and suddenly had no more free time like she used to.

And it's Alice Cullen for god's sakes! The girl oozes 'fun'. I can always go for a little bit of fun.

_**Edward**_

I refused to communicate with Alice, not even by thoughts.

I took one look into her mind, and saw her inviting Isabella Swan to the movies this Saturday, under the pretense that the five of us were already attending. Bad enough that last part was yet to be discussed by the five of us, but even if we all did decide we would leave the house and watch a movie, why in the hell would anyone be okay with _Isabella Swan _coming?

Jasper struggles with his thirst, Rosalie struggles with other females, Emmett struggles with keeping his lust for Rosalie under control, and I just plain struggle.

Not that Alice ever seems to care much about any of these things: once the girl has an idea planted in her mind, we might as well be ready to just run with it, no matter what the consequences were.

However, I was putting my foot down on Isabella – Bella – Swan.

_Why are you ignoring me?_

Her voice came floating into my head in a soft murmur. She was apprehensive, I could tell. And I knew why too: for this whole plan to fly, she was going to need my backing. Because once Alice _and _myself had planted an idea in our minds, everyone might as well be ready to run with it, because there was no other option.

I made up my face in the angriest expression I could muster – so bad that the guy in front of me cowered when he caught sight of it – and hoped that Alice would see it in her mind soon enough.

She did. _Okay, you're mad. But you have no reason to be mad._

Now I raised my eyebrow. _It's no big deal Edward, really. Bella is cool._

I inwardly scoffed. Bella is 'cool' the girl says. Nothing about Bella being human. Nothing about Bella having deliciously tempting blood rushing through her veins. Nothing about Bella being surrounded by five vampires.

Nah, Bella was _cool._

_Edward, stop that. The only person we'd have to worry about is Jasper, and he's more or less under control now. You know that. And he hates when we plan things around his thirst control. He'd be mad if he knew you were thinking like this._

He'd be mad if he knew that Alice was inviting fucking Bella Swan out with us in the first place. Everyone would be mad – Rosalie would take it up a notch further to fucking furious. Hell, I was about to be up on that ringer.

_Let's talk things out first before you put your foot down. Cut class with me?  
_  
Well that was easy enough to do: my current teacher was female, and after observing her mind for no more than a few seconds, I could tell she was already irresponsibly fascinated with me. So I raised my hand and walked towards her desk without waiting to be called on.

"Ms. Sharpe," I said in my most charming tone. Already, she was blushing – sometimes it was too easy. "Do you mind if I head down to the nurse's office for the rest of the period? I suddenly have the most hideous of headaches."

She let me go without so much as a dispute. As I walked away, I could hear her thinking the naughtiest things about me, then scolding herself for going there in the first place. I tried to suppress my chuckles.

Alice was already standing outside of my classroom, but we walked further down the hall and ducked into the janitor's closet to avoid being seen by hall monitors or other officials. Of course, the janitor's closet was a completely scandalous location and we probably wouldn't hear the end of it if we happened to exit and someone saw, but our family name had enough scandal already to go around. What would a little more do?

"You have so much explaining to do, that it's not funny," I said in a dangerous tone.

"So long as you hear me out," Alice said, her hands up in defense.

I folded my arms to indicate to her that I was listening. But she continued to defend herself, "You're not going to like what I have to say Edward," she said, and I saw into her mind that in a couple of minutes I would be yelling at her. "But try not to make this particular vision come true."

"Just out with it Al."

"Alright, alright," Alice said. "You know how Jazz and I are dating, and then Rose and Em are dating, and then Carlisle and Esme are practically married, even under human terms and regulations–"

"I was there for the beginning of all these relationships, Alice." I could my irritation building to its peak.

"Well, you know how you and Tanya tried to get together, romantically, and it didn't really work out?"

"Yes, I was there for that as well." Just what the hell was she getting at?"

"Well, I've been observing Bella lately, and been having a couple of visions about her, and well," Alice took a deep breath, but I caught in her mind what she was about to say just a second before it left her mouth.

"You think I should date Bella Swan!"

"I asked for you to save me from that particular vision," Alice said after wincing at my tone.

"I'm sorry Al, that I'm not particularly thrilled at your idea of me going out with a human," I hissed.

"Give me a chance to explain," she said quickly.

"I did, and I got this shit."

"Bella would be good for you," Alice said. "She's very quiet, and curious, in a way you could appreciate. And she's pretty Edward, I know you think she's pretty."

"And how do you know that?"

"I've seen you check her out on more than one occasion. And I can see you doing it again later on today as well."

"You know why I watch Bella Swan," I told Alice firmly. "It irks me that I can't hear her thoughts, and I think that–"

"–if you concentrate more and just her, you'll hear her soon enough," Alice said, finishing my thought. "Yes, yes, Eddie I've heard it a thousand times. But you stopped focusing on her about a week ago, and now you've just been checking her out. You can't lie to me like you can lie to everyone else you know."

Yes, I knew. It was part of the reason Alice and I had such a strong bond in the first place. "Fine, let's just say, temporarily, that yes, I've checked out Bella Swan on more than one occasion. This, in no way, means I want to date the fucking wench! It's like you're setting me up to drain her or something!"

"Absolutely not!" Alice said sharply, as if horrified by the thought.

"So you think I could carry on a romantic relationship with Bella, without her knowing what I really am? You think I could carry on a romantic relationship with someone who still has warm blood pulsing through their bodies? Someone, who is Bella Swan, and whose favorite thing to do is to have that warm blood flush her fucking face?"

"Okay Edward, I get it, there are complications to my plan."

"You damn right, there are."

"But give it a chance first!" Alice said, reverting back to the flawed plan in question. "I told you, I've seen it. And if you behave well enough, things could turn out so well!"

It was then I was treated to a cinematic, courtesy of Alice. It had Bella and I sitting by the edge of cliff together, with her head resting on my shoulder. My hand was laced with hers, and she was clearly unaffected by the cold. We both wore these content smiles, and yeah, I'll admit, we both looked pretty fucking happy.

"But you're still insane for conjuring this up in the first place, Al," I muttered.

"You know I never 'conjure', Eddie," Alice said. "I see what could be, or what will be. I don't see what I _want _to see."

I ignored her validity. "I'm still not okay with this."

"Give the idea more time to soak in," Alice said. "If this next vision is right, you'll be okay with it soon enough."

And instantly, I saw my car parked in front of Bella's house while I stood at her front door, waiting idly for someone to answer the doorbell. Suddenly the vision was pulled from me.

"Any second longer and you would have saw what she was wearing, and that's a surprise."

I was annoyed by Alice's sudden playfulness. "This conversation is over," I told her as I opened the closet door.

"For now," she whispered just before I left her.

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**It feels so nice to be writing again: my fingers need the exercise =)**

**Reviews are always appreciated**

**Until my next update!**

**--Brin--**


	2. Chapter 1, Movies

**Since that was only the prologue, it's only fair to pair that with the first chapter as well. So, here you go!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, its characters and its components**

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_Alice – "I do it because I love my older brother, and because I want him to be just as happy with someone as I am with Jasper, and as Emmett is with Rosalie and as Carlisle is with Esme. It must get overly tiresome to have to deal with so much intimacy in his coven, and then return to a life of loneliness. And maybe Eddie likes to act like he is extremely unbothered by his state of bachelorhood, but I know the man better. So I do this because I am on his side, and his well-being is my well-being. I only have good intentions at heart."_

**Chapter One, Movies**

_**Edward**_

I could tell something was up when I entered the family sitting room. Everyone was there – Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper and Alice. The final four were dressed like they were ready to hit the town. Alice had a knowing glint in her eyes as she watched me. I felt like I was in the middle of an intervention, and my human instinct – if I still had one – would have told me to run. Instead, I ventured into the room apprehensively.

"What's going on?" I asked no one in particular.

Rose huffed in an angrily way, but said nothing. I immediately tried to narrow in on her mind, but I was treated to a repeated 'this fucking sucks'. Oddly enough, she was thinking it in a way that I could tell she was trying to block out what was _actually _going on. And as I quickly jumped into everyone's mind, I realized everyone was doing the same: Emmett was thinking about Rosalie naked, which made me churn, Esme was thinking about her garden, Carlisle was thinking about the hospital's recent intake of patients, and Jasper was thinking that I should talk to Alice. They were all doing it so aggressively that it was obviously unnatural.

So I went with Jasper's thought. "What are you up to Alice Cullen?"

She grinned at me. "I'm up to you and me getting Bella so we can all go to the movies tonight."

And then I realized, rather frustrated, that today was Saturday – _the Saturday _that Alice had planned as a way for me to get with fucking Bella Swan.

"You're kidding," I said darkly.

"Kid you not," she said to me. "We're all dressed. I'll give you a minute to freshen up if you like, and then we can go. Everyone else will meet us at the theater."

"This is fucking ridiculous," I spat.

"See, he thinks so too!" Rose screamed, standing up in defiance.

In the moment that she broke her concentrated thoughts, I probed her mind. _It's not fair for us to block our real thoughts on this situation just because you want him to date a goddamn human, Alice!_

I turned on Alice immediately. "You forced everyone to focus their thoughts elsewhere because of all of this!" I screamed at her.

"I didn't want someone else's thoughts to influence yours!" Alice yelled back in indignation, standing up as well.

"No one is going to influence my thoughts because my thoughts are already set. This is _not happening Alice!_"

"Why not?"

Rosalie began the list in an angry list: "Because it's dangerous, because it's a stupid idea, because Isabella Swan isn't even that fucking pretty–"

That last one made me angry, and I snapped on Rose. "Hey, you don't have to insult the girl. She's actually _very _pretty."

Suddenly, the room fell unnaturally quiet. I glanced back at Alice, who was staring at me with a winning expression. I suddenly regretted my words. "Not that it matters how attractive or not she is," I said quickly.

"Right Eddie, right," she said in a victorious tone.

"Al, watch it okay," I said warningly. "You're treading on dangerous paths."

"Thank you," Rose said in snappish agreement.

I flinched, I couldn't help it. Rosalie and I hardly agreed on _anything_. Having her agree with me now, even though I was completely in the right, did nothing but unsettle me. I turned to someone whose agreement I would value a little more.

Once Carlisle and I made eye contact, his true thoughts came pouring in. _Admittedly, Edward, this endeavor that Alice is suggesting could be potential dangerous. But I trust you inexplicably Edward, and I have always been proud of your control in tense situations. And most of all, I love you, son, and I want to see you happy with someone else, just as much as Alice does._

Esme's sweet and motherly toned chimed in soon after: _Edward, dear, one date will not hurt. I know you better than for you to do something you might possibly regret. And you might end up having fun with this Bella girl. And wouldn't that be nice?_

Great, Alice poisoned both my parents. Although, Carlisle did see the concern in this whole situation – he just believed I would be strong enough to handle things.

I was beginning to feel defeated: now that everyone was not aggressively concentrating on something else, their thoughts collectively went against I and Rosalie's anyway: Emmett thought that Bella was cute enough to go on at least _one _date with and Jasper swore up and down that he had his thirst under control, if that was part of the reason I was so adamantly against this whole thing. _Why ask them to think about anything else Alice? _I thought sarcastically to myself: they had already been on her side.

I growled in frustration. "Fine," I muttered.

"Yes!" Alice cheered.

"Edward!" Rosalie said in a shrill.

"I'm going to change my shirt and then we can go, and let's do this quickly before I change my mind."

"Yes, sir, I'll get the Volvo running."

"Alice, stay the hell away from my car."

"Yes, sir!" She didn't care really what I said at this point: she was already too consumed with the joy that came with my agreement.

"Edward, are you losing your mind!" Rosalie hissed at me, chasing me up the stairs as I went up.

Possibly."You know there's no point in arguing with her Rose, once she has her mind set."

"Please Edward, she's going through all this trouble _because of you. _Don't you think we all would have supported you if you were against this? _I did._"

_Yes, and in the strangest of ways, it did nothing to make me feel better about declining. _"It's whatever, Rosalie."

"It's _not_ whatever!"

"Could you relax?" I snapped at her. "If you don't want to come with us–"

"Forget it Edward," Rose said in a cold tone, walking away from me and going back down the stairs.

Sometimes I wanted to lunge at that girl, hands first, in hopes that they went around her neck. But I had too much love for Emmett to do all of that. So I just tried to soothe my rattled demeanor, taking the rest of the stairs one step at a time.

_**Bella**_

I stood in front of my closet, pondering hard on what exactly to put on. Edward and Alice would be at my door in twenty minutes, and I still wasn't dressed.

I had told Alice yesterday at school that everything was a go for Saturday. My dad was excited that I was getting out of the house with a group of kids from school – he was afraid that the only friend I was going to make was the only one I had always had in this place: Jacob Black. And while he wasn't against my relationship with Jacob, Jacob did live all the way in La Push, and therefore wasn't really accessible at all times.

Alice seemed more excited than me this time about my acceptance, which made me feel good. She told me that she and Edward would come by place around seven-thirty so we could catch the eight-fifteen showing of Transformers. I tried to read up a little on the first Transformers movie so that I wouldn't be completely lost during its sequel.

Now, with only eighteen minutes left to go before the Cullens arrived at my door, I was still in my black bra and panties. Certainly, I had never been one for fashion, and I had always been comfortable in that setting. But now I felt incredibly out of my league, going out with the always beautiful and incredibly stylish Cullens and I owned not even a good knock-off from some famous designer. I sighed in defeat, knowing that I could stare into my closet all day, and nothing magical would happen, so I opted for my favorite pair of jeans and a green top.

However, even though I had no fabulous clothing, I _could_ make for it by making my hair fabulous. I curled it so that it fell in big loose waves, before pulling it half up, leaving the back out to fall over my shoulders. Once I added a little pink gloss to my lips and took a long look at myself in my full-length mirror, I decided that while I would never be as gorgeous as a Cullen, I managed to make myself look decent.

And just in time, because I heard my dad making awkward small talk with a distinctly male voice – Edward.

I pulled on my black flats and told myself to keep my cool. The most unattractive thing I could possibly do right now is act like a spellbound idiot because I was hanging out with the Cullens. And 'spellbound idiot' wasn't quite the impression I was going for.

_Just keep telling yourself, Bella: they're regular people just like you._

_Yeah, oh so regular, _came another thought, _because regular people are extremely rich and extremely beautiful._

Great, I was mentally at war with myself!

"Bells, your Edward friend is here."

_Well it's now or never, Bella._

I took a deep breath, grabbed my purse and left my room. I went down the stairs slowly, not really wanting my clumsiness to act up now as I approached Edward Cullen. He was standing in our miniscule foyer, hands in his pockets. He was focusing intently on something off to the side – our television, perhaps? He looked gorgeous in a simple fitted black polo, jeans and white sneakers, and his facial profile was enough to make me swoon. Somehow I thought he would be waiting at the bottom of the stairs, watching me as I came down. Instantly, I inwardly scolded myself: did I think this was some teen romance movie and he was going to watch me descend in slow motion as if I was the girl of his dreams?

"Hey," I said, making my presence known to him. Then I thought about it, and the 'hey' sounded so empty, so I said, "Hey Edward."

"Hi Bella," he said tightly, glancing only briefly at me. Then he turned to my dad. "Officer Swan, a pleasure to meet you. We won't keep Bella out late."

Edward walked out of the house without waiting for me, so I bade my father a hasty goodbye before trotting on after him. Alice was standing on the other side of the car, her face lighting up when she saw me.

"Bella, you look great," she said brightly.

I blushed. She must have said that just to be polite: Alice herself was dressed in a sparkling silver top that was off the shoulder, a straight black miniskirt and a pair of black pumps with sky high heels. I wondered how she was managing in such difficult shoes, but then I remembered not everyone lacked coordination like I did.

"You look amazing," I told her, hoping I didn't sound like a doting fangirl or something.

"Thanks, get in." She said just as she opened the passenger door and slid inside the vehicle.

I opened the back door on the driver's side to the silver 2009 Volvo S40 and got in. Once I had the door closed, Edward took off in a hurry.

"Don't drive too fast Eddie," Alice said to her brother.

"So which one of you is older?" I asked politely, trying to be conversational.

Edward let out an amused snort to which Alice gave him a hard look. Then she turned back to me and said, "Eddie's older than me. He's actually the eldest out of the five of us, if you can believe it."

I couldn't – I was almost certain that Emmett was the oldest, or maybe even Rosalie. As if Alice had read my mind, she said with a smile: "Most people guess it's Emmett."

"That had been my guess," I admitted. "But when you say 'oldest', do you mean he's the first adopted, or oldest in years?"

"Edward was the first adopted," Alice said quickly, turning her attention away from me.

"Who's the eldest in years?"

"God, you were right Al, she is a curious one," Edward said suddenly, his voice hard.

I suddenly felt nosy, and that Edward was insulting me for being such. I kept my hands laced together in my lap and said nothing else for the rest of the ride.

_**Edward**_

_You don't have to be so mean, Edward._

I leaned over and turned on the radio on to provide distraction. Although I could speak softly enough that Bella wouldn't even know I opened my mouth, I didn't want to risk it.

"I agreed to coming to this excursion of yours, not to being civil," I told her.

_Well that makes everything great Eddie, thanks. Because when I wanted you to agree to this, I wanted you to act like a spoiled brat as well. I'm getting everything I ever wanted._

"Everything has to be about you doesn't it?"

_I'm doing this for you, idiot._

I replied by saying nothing. It wasn't as if I had _asked _her to set me up with someone, and certainly, if I had my pickings, I wouldn't have asked her to choose some inquisitive human girl from my high school.

My head was suddenly filled with more scenes of Bella and I being incredibly happy: us standing ankle deep in ocean water with our pants rolled up to our knees, holding hands; her affectionately counting the thousands of shimmers on my glistening skin as I laid back in the sun. I fixed Alice with a hard glare, and she stopped.

_Just stuff I've seen happening, and I thought I should let you know._

Alice's visions didn't always come true. If I made a strong decision not to get close to this girl, all these visions would be for naught.

In the next instant, I saw Bella out with someone else, though the other person seemed to be a blur. But the way she was snuggled up next to him, I could only assume it was a male. _Fine with me._

_Stop it Edward,_ Alice thought bitterly. _You're not even giving Bella a chance. She's a nice girl, and she's good for you._

"You're right. She could be like a bag of chips, and whenever I get the urge to feed, I can just snack on her."

_I know you Edward: you wouldn't drain her. Not unless you had ulterior motives…._

The next vision that filled my mind was of Bella sitting in our kitchen behind the island, her already milky complexion completely washed out and bright red eyes flashing. She was laughing with Emmett over something unexplained. Surprisingly enough, she looked extremely happy with…

_...being a vampire? Get real Edward._

I slammed on the brakes, shook up by the vision, but thankfully we were at the movie theatre. I quickly fixed the car properly into one of the nearer parking spaces before getting out of the car. Alice got out right behind me, and soon she was in my face.

"Look, you," she hissed. "Be nice, okay? We'll already have enough attitude from Rose to deal with. You, plus her, will just make for a bad night, and then Bella will think we don't like her."

"_We don't,_" I insisted.

"_I do,_ and you might too if you quit being such a douche." She stabbed me in the chest with her pointer finger at that last remark. Then she bounced off towards the theatre entrance, presumably to give me and Bella 'alone time'.

Her thoughts reached me soon enough: _Be the gentleman I know you can be, Eddie. You might even like it._

I groaned: that was the part I was afraid of. Against my will, I had already found myself attracted to Bella this evening when I saw her come down the stairs. I had looked just before she turned her head towards mine, then made a point to focus on anything but her. She looked great in the slim fitting jeans and the fitted, sea-green strapless top, each article of clothing accenting her soft curves. And with her hair pulled back, I could hardly miss the disarming innocence and endearing shyness in her chocolate-colored eyes. Then, by the time we got to the car and she blushed after Alice's comment to her outfit, I found myself faced with desire to taste the blood that was rushing attractively to her cheeks. Never have I ever found someone's blushing so damn appealing – I actually had to swallow venom that had been welling in my mouth when I looked away from her.

And now all these visions from Alice about my possible happiness with Bella Swan? As a human? And then a vision of her become a vampire, like myself? It seemed much too complicated in theory to be real: it felt that it would be easier just to be mean.

"Edward?"

Bella's soft and shy voice filled my ears, and I turned to face her. She was standing only a few inches behind me, eyes fixed on the ground with that attractive flush on her face. "Is everything alright?"

I sighed in defeat, and told myself it wasn't Bella's fault that Alice was getting all these crazy thoughts. I put on best smile and tucked my hand under her chin, titling her head upwards. "Everything's good."

She shivered, but didn't pull away from my touch. "Your hands are so cold."

_Fuck. _I snatched my hand away from her skin. "Yeah, guess I had the AC up too high in the car," I replied quickly as my cover. "Come on, let's go meet up with the others."

I couldn't afford to be careless like this. Just because Alice thought Bella would be able to handle my true nature doesn't mean _I _agreed with her.

_**Bella**_

Transformers was confusing. As the movie played before me on a huge screen, I began wishing to myself that I had just _watched _the film instead of reading up on it on Wikipedia.

I was seated between Edward and Alice, with Edward in the aisle seat. Next to Alice was Jasper, naturally, followed by Rosalie and Emmett. The final two were completely ignoring the movie, too engrossed in each other's kiss to care – they had pushed up the arm rest between them and everything. Jasper and Alice had pulled up their arm rest as well, but only so Alice could snuggle closer to Jasper's side. Thankfully, they weren't mauling each other, because that would have simply made things more awkward between me and Edward.

More awkward than they already were.

I'm not sure why I didn't pick up on this sooner, but I now realized that Edward and I were the only two here that weren't a couple. The arm rest separating us was suddenly so obvious I felt as if it was taunting me. Every fiber in me wanted to lean on Edward's perfect body and rest my head against his chest while put his arm around me. But as I took shy, quick peeks at his face, I found that he was either extremely focused on the movie or just completely uninterested in even glancing in my direction.

I fiddled nervously with my fingers and fought the urge to say something to him – we were in a movie theatre for god's sakes: not really meant for conversation. But I wanted to know if I had upset him in some way, or if he was mad at me. The way his brow crinkled together gave a vibe of irritation, even if it was the cutest crinkle I had ever seen.

Suddenly, he turned to me, and his expression warmed so instantly that I could feel my face flushing. He gave me a sweet, crooked smile and whispered, "Are you enjoying the film so far?"

I tried to think of some coy way to answer, but instead, all that came out was the truth: "I'm a little lost, because I've never seen the first one." I stopped for a moment, then added, "I mean, I can tell who are the good guy versus who are the bad guys. I mean, the word Decpetacon is clear enough to show whose side I should be cheering on." A nervous giggle left my throat at this point, and then I fell incredibly silent: I realized a moment too late that I had started blabbing.

Edward watched me for a moment, an amused smirk on his face. "Well," was all he said.

I wanted to die of sheer embarrassment. "I mean, other than that I'm fine," I added helplessly, not wanting to go on another tangent about nothing.

"Right," Edward said before turning his attention back to the screen.

_Good ass job Bella. He finally looks at you, and you fuck things up. _I took a deep breath before asking him, "Are you enjoying the movie so far?"

"Shush!" came the harsh and angry voice from behind. "Some of us are trying to watch the movie still!"

I felt my face reddening further. If a god existed, He'd save me from the humiliation beginning to creep over me.

"So do you want to go outside?" Edward asked casually.

I so desperately wanted to keep a straight face, but I couldn't mask my surprise. "Outside?" I blurted out, a little too loudly.

"Shush!" Harsh and Angry said again.

Edward chuckled to himself, then leaned in closer to me. Soon his nose was only an inch away from me. "Not all the way outside, just in the lobby. We'll wait for everyone to get out there."

"You don't want to finish watching the movie?"

He shrugged one shoulder, then gave me that adorable crooked smile again. "It doesn't matter, come on."

He took my hand and led us out of the aisle and up to the exit. Again, I was in shock at just how cold his hand was. Of course, I certainly wasn't warm either – not with all that unreasonably cold movie theatre air-conditioning blasting at me – but his hand was oddly chilled. But I like it, his icy touch: when he had touched my face earlier, my skin broke out in pleasant goosebumps, though that could have had little to do with the temperature of his hand, and more with the fact that it had been on my face in the first place.

"It's pretty cold in there," I ventured once we were out of the theatre.

He looked back at me, eyes widened only for a split second. He dropped my hand instantly, then stuffed both of his in his pockets. "Yeah, I get cold pretty easily," he told me quickly.

It was a pattern: as soon as I brought up his hands, he seemed to get defensive. What was the big deal? Some people got really cold quicker than others. I bravely decided to tease him, "Maybe you should wear more than just a fitted tee next time you come to the movies," I said, smiling.

He reciprocated my teasing, with playfulness of his own. "How would you get a chance to check me out properly if I wore a sweater?"

I blushed, imagining Edward in sweater, and said in a murmur, "I'm sure you could pull off a sweater nicely."

He grinned at me, and took a step closer. "So you _are_ checking me out?"

My face got hot. "I didn't say that!"

"But you didn't deny it either." He took another step towards me. "And trust me Bella, you don't have to say it."

I frowned at myself: was I that obvious? Then again, wasn't everyone undeniably attracted to Edward? I went with that route, "Well you _are_ good looking."

"Thank you," he said with a smile. He added in a cool tone, "I'm also way out of your league."

Abruptly, my heart fell into my stomach, then dissolved in my acidic gastric juices. I was certain I was staring at him with my jaw open, dumbfounded, but I was too busy battling the hurt trying to follow the sting of his words. Suddenly, the pleasant demeanor Edward had only moments ago, faded into the hard, cold exterior had had in the car. He took another step towards me, completely closing the gap between us, and stared down at me – his amber eyes blazing with dangerous intensity.

"Listen Bella, you seem like a nice enough girl, so let's end this before anything starts," he said darkly. "I am not your type. You are not my type. Nothing would ever work out between us, though my sister believes differently. The point is, I'm telling you that your attraction to me is futile because nothing will come of it."

My breathing had gotten heavier, and I certainly felt like I was going to cry. Rejection wasn't something I was new to, but this kind of rejection opened up a whole new world to the term – a world that burned my chest and hurt all over. I dropped my head, unable to hold his gaze anymore. I wanted to say something – Why? How? What did I do? – but nothing came out. Nothing _could _come out.

"If you want, I'll take you home now."

I could only nod weakly in response.

* * *

**I'm supposed to be watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Hopefully it will be just as good as the first!**

**Reviews are always welcome.**

**Until my next update!**

**--Brin--**


	3. Chapter 2, Reconsider

**I saw Transformers 2 last night. While Shia was sexy as always, the movie was only average to me. First one is definitely the better one. Watch it at your own risk.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, its characters or its components**

* * *

_Alice – "I do it because I love my older brother, and because I want him to be just as happy with someone as I am with Jasper, and as Emmett is with Rosalie and as Carlisle is with Esme. It must get overly tiresome to have to deal with so much intimacy in his coven, and then return to a life of loneliness. And maybe Eddie likes to act like he is extremely unbothered by his state of bachelorhood, but I know the man better. So I do this because I am on his side, and his well-being is my well-being. I only have good intentions at heart."_

**Chapter Two, Reconsider**

_**Bella**_

I didn't even want to look in Alice's direction, much less speak to her that Monday in Yearbook, but she was coming at me and I had no means of escape. So I tucked my head down and pretended to be deeply engrossed in the picture spread laid out in front of me.

"Bella, I want to apologize," She said softly. Then she added in an even softer tone, "For Edward."

Just hearing his name made my innards cringe. Edward's words from Saturday were burned into my memory: _I am way out of your league. I am not your type. You are not my type. Nothing would ever work out between us. Your attraction to me is futile because nothing will come of it. _If only he had stopped there, but after a painfully long drive back to her house, he turned to me with a hard expression and stated simply: 'our interactions end here and now, goodbye Bella Swan'.

God, he hadn't been trying to get the point across: he was trying to carve it into my very being.

_Mission accomplished._

"He had no reason saying the things he said to you, Bella."

"He told you the things he said to me?" I asked Alice, hearing the break in my voice.

Alice first looked sorry for revealing the fact that she knew, then her expression became incredibly sympathetic. She sat in the open chair next to me and probing me with intense and concerned gold eyes. "Listen, Edward isn't the best when it comes to social events. We usually don't let him out of the house."

She said the last part so lightly that I couldn't help but laugh. But it hurt to do so: I had spent so much of the rest of the weekend sobbing that I just wasn't ready for the change in emotion just yet.

"Anyway, I'm really sorry about it," Alice said, her tone being so sincere that I couldn't help but believe her. "I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me, and our friendship."

"Of course not," I said quickly. I didn't want Alice to get the wrong idea just because her brother had been incredibly mean to me.

"Good," Alice said, reaching over and grabbing my hands. It was then I noticed that she was wearing gloves, lavender in color and silk in material. They cinched together above the wrist, then flared elegantly for three more inches of fabric.

"Wo-ow, those are fancy," I told her.

"Yeah, I just got them ordered from Paris," Alice said, blushing embarrassingly. "I know it's still end of September, but I guess I'm just breaking them in from now for when the winter actually comes."

I felt stupid asking, but they looked so delicate and exquisite against her skin that the small, envious child in me wanted to try them on. "May I?"

"Yeah sure," she said, hastily slipping them off her hands and giving them to me.

The fabric felt cool against my skin as I slipped them onto my hands. They didn't go all the way down, the cinching came an inch or so above where they stopped on Alice's hands: mine were just too much bigger than hers. I took them off quickly, not wanting to stretch them out of damage them.

"They don't fit," I said disappointedly.

"No worries," Alice said, waving it off. "I can order you a pair just like these."

"Oh no, Alice," I said quickly. "You don't have to."

"Please Bella, we're friends. Friends by each other gifts."

Not gifts you have to order in from Paris. "Really Alice, it would be too much."

"_Really_ Bella, it would be no problem at all," Alice said. "Don't even worry about it. We can look through the catalog I ordered it from. You can pick a different color, or a different style. Whatever you want."

I smiled weakly – there was clearly no way to convince Alice otherwise, but I liked that she wanted to be friends, even though I could do without the 'expensive gift' part.

"So," Alice started tentatively, as she slipped her gloves back on. "Will you sit with us at lunch today?"

My eyes widened in disbelief. "You're kidding right?"

"No-o," she said, dragging the word out.

"I don't think I left a good impression on your family, Alice," I said quietly, my mind drifting back to Edward.

Alice rolled her eyes. "That was only _Edward, _and he's always miserable when he hasn't been fed. Jasper thought you were really sweet."

Oh yeah: Alice's doting boyfriend thought I was sweet. That sounded completely sincere. "I don't know, Alice."

"Call me Al," she said. "If you want, I mean. I can understand that 'Alice' can be a lot to get out at once at times."

"Right," I said. Then I added for posterity, "Al."

She smiled, before continuing. "So Jasper likes you, and Emmett loves everyone. And Rose hates everyone, so technically, you're already in the clear with her," Alice paused, and shrugged. "The only clear you'll _ever_ be in with her. And I love you!"

I smiled at Alice's eagerness, but sadly her words weren't enough. Not when the only other Cullen I really wanted to like me had made it blatantly clear two nights ago that our 'interactions' were over.

"Don't bug yourself over Edward, Bella," Alice said reassuringly. "Really, he was just having an off night. And I know that's no reason to take it out on you but–"

"If he told you what he had told me Saturday night, you can understand my concern for not wanting to be within three feet of him."

Alice exhaled heavily, and the locks of hair framing her face fluttered about. "It's only second period. You still have two more periods before you can officially decide–"

"Alice–"

"–and while I'd be utterly convinced that you don't like me anymore if you don't sit with me at lunch–"

"Alice!"

"–I'll have to respect your decision regardless." She had given me her entire story, without so much as paying attention to my indignant outbursts. Now she stared at me with comically sad eyes.

I laughed. "Sometimes you're too much Alice Cullen."

Alice smiled wide. "I'll take that as a 'sure Al, I'll see you at lunch time'."

I shrugged, but smiled in return. "Sure Al, I'll see you at lunch time."

_**Edward**_

I'm starting to think that Alice has no respect for me. Or if she does have some respect for me, it's quite miniscule and easily ignorable. Because yet again, Isabella Swan has been invited to the Cullen personal space.

"That's an ugly face," Jasper said nonchalantly. He was sitting across from me at our usual lunch table. The two of us – and Alice – shared this free period before lunch.

I hadn't realized that my inner irritation had made its way to my face, but I tried to relax my muscles anyway. "It's Alice," I told him.

"What has she done now?"

"It's Alice, and her obsession with Isabella Swan."

Jasper glanced up at me, looking unimpressed. "Don't you think you're being a little hard on Alice with that whole thing?"

I tried not to get angry. Of course Jasper would side with Alice: she was the love of his life. "No," was all I said.

"Well I think you are," Jasper said. "Bella is a nice girl, and it's obvious that she likes you. Even if you don't like her, you don't have to be mean to her."

"I wasn't mean, I–"

"Alice told me what you said to Bella when the two of you left the movies," Jasper said with a hard glare. "And yes, you were mean. Unnecessarily so."

I sighed in frustration. "Fine, I was harsh. Who cares though? As far as I'm concerned, she had to coming to her, thinking that things could work out between her and I."

"Maybe she would have seen it coming if she knew the full story," Jasper said. "I mean, it's not like she knows about your true nature and the complications there would be in your relationship. She just sees a cute high school boy. You can't blame her for that."

"Are you suggesting I tell her that I'm a vampire?" The idea seemed ludicrous, and Jasper was smarter than that.

"No-o," he said, dragging out the word. "I'm just saying that you can't say that Bella should have seen it coming."

I went quiet, realizing that Jasper did have a point there: Bella didn't know the full extent of things, so maybe my words would have been somewhat unexpected. Then again, I wouldn't have had to been mean in the first place if Alice would just let this whole "Bella-Edward" thing go.

"This is Alice's fault," I said.

"Oh yes, let's all rip and torch Alice because she wants you to be happy," Jasper said, rolling his eyes.

"Have I ever told anyone that I'm unhappy?"

"You don't have to say it, Ed," Jasper said. "We all know you enough to tell."

I folded my arms, angry that Jasper didn't understand things from my point of you. Of course, it was only natural of me to get annoyed at the love show going on in my house, what with my entire coven being coupled up, but that didn't mean that I needed Alice to hook me up with someone. And certainly not a _human _someone. And especially not a _Bella Swan _human someone.

"It doesn't matter," I said quietly. "I don't want to be a part of Alice's matchmaking game. I don't like Bella Swan."

"Why?" Jasper asked. "I haven't heard a good reason why."

"Because he doesn't want to work at it."

It was Alice's voice, coming up behind me. She sat next to Jasper and the two shared a quick kiss before she continued: "Edward is afraid that he might actually _like _Bella, and then he'll have to work at their relationship. Somehow, in his small little mind, he thinks love is _easy._"

I scowled at Alice. Jasper laughed. "He must be crazy if he thinks love is easy. Loving you is the hardest thing I have to do each day. Followed by the thirst control."

"Shut up Jasper," Alice said in a flirtatious giggle.

I rolled my eyes at the two of them – this was one of the moments when the adorableness was starting to irk me. Alice turned back to me and narrowed her eyes. "Now listen Eddie, Bella is going to sit with us at lunch today. So you better be on your best behavior. And not that best behavior you gave on Saturday."

"Alice–"

"Just give her a chance Edward, really," Alice said in an exasperated sigh. "She might surprise you."

That was the part that unnerved me in the first place. The last thing I was going to admit to was that Alice was _right_.

By lunch time, Emmett and Rosalie were sitting at our table as well. The two of them sat around so that the only empty chair would be next to me. I glared at Alice, but she only glared back at me. Then her face broke out into a smile as she said: "Over here Bella!"

I looked over my shoulder to see Bella standing nervously a few feet away from us. Fuck, that she looked just as good today as she had the night of the movie. It was the same jeans from that night, with a strapless fitted white top, her dark hair tousled attractively over her shoulders. I saw her take a deep breath before she continued her trek towards our table. I had to start holding my breath when her scent came over me – the most intoxicating thing it was ever my fortune to take in. Why did she have to smell _good _on top of everything else?

"Hi everyone," she said in a soft shy voice. Then she sat down and kept her eyes away from me. "Alice invited me."

"Oh relax Bella, you don't have to explain why you're here," Alice said quickly, waving her hand. "Nobody here is questioning you."

"I am," Rosalie said in a cold, angry tone.

"Relax Rosie," Emmett said cheerfully, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her in close. "Bella is big fun."

She let out a small smile, her face reddening slightly. I saw Jasper's eyes dart away from her face instantly, and Alice reach over to hold his hand. In an instant, he was calm yet again. Unlike myself, because I was still trying to keep my composure. How sad that Jasper was the one who normally had the thirst control, yet I couldn't handle the light blush on Bella's face.

"You should have told us that you didn't watch the first Transformers movie Bella," Alice said conversationally. "We could have watched something else. I heard The Proposal was very good."

"Oh I want to watch that one," Emmett said with a smile. "With Sandra Bullock right?"

"And Ryan Renolds," Bella said, seeming to warm up already. "My friend Angela and her boyfriend saw it the other night. They said it was really funny."

The three of them suddenly fell into warm and easy conversation about movies they had watched recently, what they enjoyed and what they didn't, with Jasper interjecting at points. Rosalie sat stone silent, still under Emmett's grasp, but glaring at Bella. Not that she noticed: she had gotten so comfortable with everyone, that she clearly hadn't even noticed that no one was eating their lunch except her.

I sat quietly as well, pushing my food around for posterity, but mostly just watching Bella. Now that she was completely at ease, her face was open and alight. The smile she wore was small, but comfortable, and her laugh – shockingly to me – sounded like chimes to my ears. And the luscious tint of red on her cheeks was enough to make me give over to the animal in me and taste her.

Which was the whole reason why I wanted to be away from Bella in the first place. This 'control' that my family was so sure that I had wasn't at its best when it came to Bella. I felt myself battling demons just sitting here next to her. And Alice wanted me to have a _relationship _with the girl?

"What do you think Edward?" Alice said to me, taking me from my thoughts. "The Proposal this weekend? Next weekend?"

Oh no, not another date-type event. "Count me out," I said in a hard tone.

"Me too," Rose said in a tone just as rough.

"Aw, babe," Emmett said. "Who am I going to snuggle with in the theatre when it gets cold? You have to come."

"I don't want to come if _she's _going," Rose said bluntly.

The whole table fell silent. An embarrassed blush covered Bella's cheeks, as she bit her bottom lip hard. "This was a bad idea," I heard her whisper. Then suddenly she stood up. "Please excuse me," she said quickly, walking away before any of us could say something.

I turned on Rosalie. "Why do you have to be like that Rose? Why do you have to be so fucking harsh at times?"

"Me?" Rose said in surprise. "You're the one that butchered the girl on Saturday. I didn't even think you'd care whether what I said to the bitch."

"Stop it," I hissed. "Bella is not a bitch."

I saw Alice's knowing smile, so I snapped on her as well. "Don't get any ideas Alice."

"I didn't say anything Eddie, dear. I just know very well about that whole 'only I can be mean to the people I love, not anyone else' get up. I've seen a couple of times."

"It's not like that," I said.

"It certainly feels that way," Rosalie said, folding her arms.

I got up from the table, compelled to find Bella and apologize on Rosalie's behalf. It was hard at first, because my not being able to hear her thoughts made me unable to trace her, but then I found her at her locker, stuffing her folders inside in frustration.

"Bella–"

"Don't say anything to me Edward," she snapped at me, in a tone that surprised me. There was an angry fire in her eyes. "I don't want to hear anything else from you."

"Look, I just want to apologize for Rosalie–"

"But not for yourself?" She hissed. She returned to jamming things into her locker. "I wouldn't be surprised if Rosalie didn't like me because of something _you _said to her."

"Now wait a minute. I've never talked about you to my family."

"Why? Because I'm not _in your league_?" She stopped and glared at me again. "And if you didn't talk about me to your family, how does everyone know what you said to me that night in the first place?"

"That doesn't matter," I said quietly. The last thing I was going to say was that Alice had foreseen the argument and told everyone about it that night in anger over my behavior.

"I'm sure," Bella said. She slammed her locker, and then turned to face me, taking two large steps until she was directly in my face. This close, I could smell her fear, among other things. But she fought through it, brown eyes flashing, and said, "Listen Edward, I don't know what I did to you to deserve you being so…_fucking mean _to me. But trust me, I'm not a glutton for punishment. If you never want to talk to me again, then don't talk to me. If you don't like me at all, then trust me, I won't like you either. I'll just be friends with Alice, and that's it. We don't ever have to speak if you want it that way."

"Bella–"

"No, just shut the fuck up Edward," she snapped at me. "Because while you may think that I'm not in your league, I just think you're just a selfish, arrogant, spoiled rich kid and you don't deserve your great family. Except for Rosalie, because she's a cold-hearted bitch just like you are."

Her cursing had surprised me enough, but then the rest of her tirade left me with my jaw hanging. I certainly hadn't expected this tiny little shy girl of a human to be able to say all these things with a straight face. Especially not one who was so clearly intimidated and infatuated by me at the same time. But she held her ground, and huffed at me, just before stomping past me. I turned around to watch her leave, my eyes falling on the soft sway of her hips as she went away.

Bella had been attractive to me before, subtly so. But suddenly she was the hottest thing I had ever laid eyes on.

_**Bella **_

I can't believe I yelled at Edward, but I couldn't help it: I was so angry at the whole thing. First the movies, and then me going against my intuition and agreeing to Alice's request to sit at lunch, and then Rosalie's offhand comment. And then on top of all of that, Edward coming to apologize for _Rosalie!_ As if _he _hadn't said worse things to me!

I was still fuming when I reached the parking lot. It wasn't till I reached my truck that I realized I still had class to attend, and only fifteen minutes left of lunch. I had to go back inside and return to my lessons. Still, being outside and breathing in the fresh air, did make me feel less angry. I took a couple more deep breaths, before turning around to head back to the school building.

But I took only three steps before I realized someone was coming towards me – _Edward _was coming towards me. And now, that I wasn't mad anymore, the usual intimidation that came with being in Edward's presence came rushing back to me. Plus, he looked angry.

"Bella," he growled at me once he was close enough. "That was really uncalled for back in there in the hallway. I was just trying to apologize for Rosalie's obscene behavior."

Anger started rushing back to me. But before I could comment, Edward took another step towards me, and the anger in his face melted away, replaced with a somber expression. "However, I should have apologized for myself first," he said. "For my own behavior on Saturday."

I gaped, mouth opening and closing awkwardly. "Edward–"

"So I apologize," he said quietly, amber eyes smoldering. "For the things I said to you that night. I shouldn't have said them. I was angry about other things, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you." He smiled at me, the smile I remembered so well from Saturday. "Forgive me?"

His voice had dropped so low at the last two words that my face flushed instantaneously. I nodded quickly, unable to speak.

His smile grew slightly. "Thank you Bella, I appreciate it," he said. "Now then, may I walk you to your next class?"

"Um, sure," I said nervously, taking his outstretched arm tentatively. "Edward? If I may ask," I said softly as we started walking back into the school building. "Why the sudden turn around? I mean, why are you apologizing to me all of a sudden?"

Edward didn't reply right away, and I wondered if I should have just allowed myself the satisfaction of Edward Cullen apologizing to me in the first place. But then he said, "Sometimes you have to realize when you're in the wrong. And I realized that I was. I had no business being as harsh as I was with you that night. It was unnecessary. Plus," he looked down at me and smiled. "You aren't as out of my league as I made you seem."

I blushed again, certain that I was being flirted with. Edward had gone from the big bad wolf to a charming prince. Although, I did like the 'charming prince' part, I wondered if this was going to be a regular thing with him that I would have to learn to cope with: the extreme mood swings. Then I mentally smacked myself, realizing that two seconds of niceness from Edward had me making plans for our future together, which definitely fell under 'getting ahead of myself'.

"So, The Proposal," Edward said softly. "Do you want to watch it?"

I tried not to seem too surprised. "Um, well, yeah," I said uncertainly, still trying to avoid the 'getting ahead of myself' syndrome.

"Because if you cared to give me another shot, we could try this movie thing again. Probably this Saturday?"

He said it so coolly, but it had me bouncing inside. Now _Edward _was asking me out? "This isn't some ploy to humiliate me a second time is it?" I blurted out.

He looked at me, his face apologetic again. "I did say I was sorry for what I said."

"Well that doesn't make it go away you know," I told him.

He smiled. "You're right, it doesn't."

He stopped walking, and I realized we were standing in front of my classroom. I glanced down at my watch, and saw that I was five minutes late for class. "Oh no!"

"Don't worry," Edward said calmly. He fished around in his front pocket, then pulled out a yellow slip – a late pass. As he handed it to me, I realized my name was on it.

"How did you–?"

"Doesn't matter," he said. "It's genuine, so you'll be okay."

I smiled nervously, taking it from him. "Thanks."

"It's no problem." He folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "So, the movies this Saturday? I know I deserve for you to leave me hanging, but I'm hoping you'll save me a second time from the despair of hanging out with my romantically linked Cullens by myself."

I nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that last Saturday. It must get pretty awkward at times."

He sighed. "It does."

"Well," I shrugged, trying to stay nonchalant. "I guess I could think consider it, and get back to you."

"Want my number?" he asked, his voice sounding suggestive.

"Uh…" Damn, incoherence yet again. "Sure."

I handed him my phone, and he punched it in with ease. When he gave it back to me, and our fingers touched for the briefest of moments. I felt a similar rush of coolest against my skin. I was tempted to comment on it, but it seemed that he was very sensitive about his easiness to get cold.

"So call me," he said, "when you decide."

"Right," I said. "I will. I mean, I might."

Edward grinned at me. "Hopefully you will," he said, just before turning away from me.

I wanted to call after him, not quite ready to be rid of him so soon, but he had already turned the corner. And I had nothing to say to him anyway, I was just a girl with a serious crush. Even after the guy practically insulted me, I still found myself wanting to get to know him, and wanting him to get to know me.

That might make me a little silly, but we all get a little silly over the guys we like, don't we? And he did apologize for what he said to me. Couldn't that mean that he liked me too?

* * *

**Watch The Proposal guys, it was really funny.**

**My updates may be coming a little slower than my usual readers are used to, but I am churning out the chapters, slowly but surely. Just be patient.**

**Until my next update.**

**--Brin--**


	4. Chapter 3, Dating Game

**Things heat up in this chapter:: I have a little self-gratification scenes going on, if you get my drift. Consider that my warning. Also, sorry if this particular chapter is lengthy, but it didn't feel right to cut it anywhere. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, its characters, or any of its components**

* * *

**Chapter Three, Dating Game**

_**Edward**_

Fuck it all: Bella Swan was driving me insane.

It was Friday afternoon, and I still hadn't heard from the girl. Of course, I had seen enough of her: walking down the halls with Alice, the two of them looking like a pair of inseparable girlfriends, and in our one shared class period where she sat at the lab table in front of mine on the right hand side of the room. But other than that – Bella seemed to have forgotten entirely about me asking her out. Because with all this seeing, I still hadn't _heard _a reply.

I would have blamed it on her no longer being attracted to me, but that was clearly not a factor here. I've caught her, out of the corner of my eye, glancing around in my direction during our class period, a look of admiration in her deep brown eyes. And then whenever we made (brief) eye contact, she always looked away instantly, blushing furiously and looking childish. I didn't have to read her mind to know that she still had a crush, although, being able to read her mind would have made this waiting period a-whole-lot-fucking easier.

I hated her for making me wonder like this. It should have been no skin of my back that Bella had possibly changed her mind about her and I. In fact, I should have been elated at the whole fact – it was what I wanted the entire time.

Except now I was fucking _attracted _to Bella Swan. Every time I saw her and we still hadn't spoken, she looked more tempting than the day before. With her hair pulled back Tuesday, she exposed the smooth creaminess of her neck, and the soft round of her shoulders. On Wednesday, she wore a pencil skirt, and I was treated to a pair of attractive legs. Thursday gave me her laugh: she, Emmett and Alice were hanging out at our lunch table, and Emmett was being his usual ridiculous self. Bella's laugh sounded so real to my ears – not the annoying female titter that most girls use during their teen years – and I loved the way her eyes crinkled together and the soft red that painted her cheeks as she laughed.

By Friday, I was going fucking crazy. Bella wore black slacks and a soft pink turtleneck sweater and a pair of high-heeled black boots, with the pants tucked inside them. The entire outfit outlined the curves of her body to a T, and she left her hair loose over her shoulders, with a headband in the color of her sweater on her head. It was almost as if she _wanted _to torment me, and it was working. I was getting to the point where I wanted to speak to Alice about it, but I knew she would give me a hard time about it:

"_Aha! I knew it Eddie! You love her!"_ or _"See, see! I was right wasn't I?"_

I didn't need to give Alice that satisfaction. But it was eating me inside that the girl wouldn't just talk to me, and that she refused to stop being appealing to me, _at least once!_

"Bella."

My voice made her stop in her tracks, and I saw her flinch. She was standing in the hallway, and I was tired of being ignored.

But I played it off cool, as if she hadn't been tormenting me day and night with her lack of response. I approached her slowly, smiling at her as I came close. I could already see becoming weaker by my presence. At least I still had _that_ affect on her.

"Hey," I said.

"Hi," she chirped. Then she cleared her throat heavily and absently twirled her hair around her finger.

"Nervous?" I said in a low tone.

I could see the goosebumps breaking out on her skin. But she immediately combed her hand out of her hair and straightened her shoulders. "No, why would I be?" she asked.

"I was just wondering what was up," I said as coolly as I could muster. "I hadn't heard from you about tomorrow."

Her face reddened, and I bit my bottom lip in order to restrain my desire. "Yeah, well, I had a lot of thinking to do."

"Thinking?" I echoed gruffly, my voice becoming thick. Dear god, not now. I was doing so well. I couldn't show Bella now that she affected me just as much as I affected her.

"Yeah," she said slowly. Her eyebrow rose and her expression become contemplative. I wanted – so badly – at that moment to know what she was thinking. Did she notice the change of tone in my voice?

I expected Bella to follow up with something along the lines of what her decision was, but she remained silent, her brown eyes thoughtful. I was dying. "Well what did you come up with?" I pressed in a rushed voice.

Suddenly she smiled. "It shouldn't be that important to you whether I come or not, considering the way you treated me last week."

Fuck. She saw through my defenses. She knew she had me. I couldn't let her keep the upper hand. I cleared my throat, and tried to recover, giving her my most disarming smile as I took another step closer to her. The smile worked, and I could feel her turning back to putty under my intense gaze. "You don't like me anymore Bella, dear?" I said in a low rumble.

"I didn't say that!" Ah yes, that little chirp of hers was back. But just when I thought I had her, she narrowed her eyes and raised her chin a little higher. "How could you even ask me that? It's not like I completely insulted you a week ago."

"I thought we were over that."

"Well, maybe I'm not," she said in huff.

I gave her another winning smile. I brought my hand to her waist, and gently pulled her closer to me, till our bodies touched. It was a risk, but I was betting on all the fabric between us to shield my cold temperature. Besides, I wanted to win the little battle of power between us.

"I wish you were over it," I whispered. "I want to spend time with you."

She blushed, and I had to bite back a growl. This was too close, but I held it together. "Edward, I–"

"Don't you want to spend time with me?"

She seemed at a loss words, her full bottom lip quivering. I suddenly had the urge to take that lip between my own. _Too close. _She smelled so sweet – vanilla, honey, chocolate – and the innocence in those brown eyes only made me want to act sinful. I took a deep breath, taking in her intoxicating scent. I could feel her heart racing, and I imagined all the blood pulsing through her body, the rush of it to her face. Never had I desired human blood like this. My hand on her waist was tightening, and I tried to relax my muscles. I could feel something else tightening, and I groaned inwardly in despair. This was getting unbearable. I could only hope that the fabric between us would protect my growing erection as well.

_Too close._

"Well?" I said softly, prompting her to speak.

She glanced up at me, face still tinged with red, and nodded. "Okay."

I smiled at her, and slowly stepped back. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow Bella. Eight?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'll see you at eight."

I turned away from her and took a couple of slow steps, but I was really listening for hers. Once I heard her go around the corner, I pressed myself into the wall of lockers and groaned. I tried to swallow the venom in my mouth before it pooled. Then I bit my lip, pinched the bridge of my nose, and mentally tried to talk my standing shaft down.

What the fuck was this girl doing to me? I have interacted with humans on a regular basis for more than a hundred years now. I got over my thirst within the first two months following my transformation. I even have had to deal with silly human girls with the crushes. But Bella Swan? She fucked up my whole mental wiring. I acted like a predator, manipulating her into going out with me, become my prey. But I didn't even feel bad for it, because the animalistic, primal part of me wanted her. In more ways than one, as my hard rod now showed me.

Alice was more right than she thought.

I told myself to get a grip – that I couldn't let this girl get to me more than she already did. Bella could not be the one to have the upper hand in this situation. Considering the way my body responded to her, the results of that could be potentially disastrous. Or worse, irreversible.

_**Bella**_

I lied in bed on my back, wearing a black bra and rosy pink panties. My outfit for tonight lied next to me – a simple dark blue dress with wide straps and a v-neck cut. It was starting to get cooler out, so I was going to put on a pair of black leggings and my boots as well. It had taken me almost an hour and a half to come up with that particular outfit, and the only reason I settled on that one, was because I told myself to get a grip.

I couldn't help myself: something deep in me wanted Edward to look at me and desire me. I wanted him to think I was sexy. I had never desired to be "sexy" or "hot" anytime before this. But now, I wanted Edward to see me and regret his words last week in more ways than one.

It was seven o' clock, Saturday. I still had time before Edward would come for me. My heart pounded wildly at the thought. It had only been an hour and a half before this moment when I received the text message from Edward: _"I hope you don't mind, but the rest of the family can't come out with us, so it'll just be me and you."_

I had texted back that I didn't mind, but then I went on the clothing rampage, trying to find the right piece of clothing.

It wasn't that I minded, it's just that us being alone totally raised the bar of the occasion. What first felt like a gathering with friends, could now be classified as a date. It seemed almost too good to be true – going on a date with Edward Cullen. Even though his words had hurt, I did believe to an extent that I wasn't in Edward's league. His whole family seemed beyond human: impossibly gorgeous with impeccable features, unbelievably wealthy, and incredibly kind and friendly. Except for Rosalie, but if I was as beautiful as that girl was, I could stand to be stuck up to a couple of lesser worthy people. But Emmett and Alice bombarded me with camaraderie, and Jasper was kind in his quiet way. And I had seen Edward behave charmingly with others, that I knew he was capable of the same affection that Emmett and Alice gave me.

I was just a matter of inspiring him to act that way.

Certainly I had gotten my first taste of it all, starting with the perfectly executed apology that left me speechless, and ending with yesterday, where he pulled me into his arms and probed me with those intense gold eyes and irresistible smile and left me melting.

But I wanted more.

I wanted things from Edward that I didn't want from any other person of the opposite sex before. I wanted Edward to hold me like he did in the hallway, always. His body felt cool against mine, but the embrace warmed me nonetheless. I wanted him to touch my face with those cold fingers of his – touch my face, my neck, my arm, my waist, my…everywhere there was skin.

I closed my eyes, imagining his touch. It would be just as soft as the time he tucked his thumb under my chin. His stroke would be gentle and lingering as he grazed over my stomach, and down between my inner thighs. My own hand found its way between my thighs, as I imagined more Edward – the contrast of his coolness against my heat.

A finger dipped between my folds, and I saw him: Edward lying on top of me. His eyes were smoldering, burning into me. His body was so hard, pressed against mine. I shivered as he explored inside me, touching all my hottest spots. Another finger slipped inside me, and I moved against his touch, squirming with pleasure. He gave me that captivating smile of his, but it was much more seductive.

"You like it," I heard him whisper. "Tell me that you like it."

My back arched and I whimpered out: "Edward."

His fingers worked faster, thrusting into me. My breathing got short, as he pushed me towards my climax. My body was on fire.

"Edward, Edward, _Edward._"

He was relentless. I was dying for him to take it to the next level, to give me his entire body. I shook with an orgasm, and moaned: "Oh god, Edward!"

"Bella?"

_Eep, Charlie!_

I yelped in surprise, and was immediately pulled from my fantasy. Edward's hand became my hand again, and I removed it as soon as I noticed where it lay.

"Bella honey, are you okay? I thought I heard rattling coming from up here."

Damn it, I forgot about just how noisy my bed got when I tossed and turned on it. Had I been so caught up in my Edward dream that I hadn't all the noise I was making? Well, I knew I was making some form of noise – I was talking to my fantasy Edward…

_God, I sound sad._

"I'm okay Dad," I replied after steadying my breath. "Everything is good."

"Okay, dear. I just wanted to tell you though, that your friend Edward is here."

I felt my face get hot. Had so much time past already? I glanced at the clock and sure enough, it was about ten to eight. I didn't have time to contemplate why Edward was early: Edward was _here, _in the _house_, while I had been having the naughty fantasies about him! Having naughty fantasies, and pleasuring myself thus! What if he had heard the bed rattling as well? Had I said his name _out loud? _What if he had heard!

_Come on Bella, the man doesn't have supersonic hearing or anything like that. Charlie didn't hear anything but the bed shaking, why would Edward hear anymore than that?_

Still, just the idea of Edward being a mere couple of feet away while I had been fantasizing about him spiked my nerves to the nth degree. And I had been nervous enough already.

"Just tell him I'm coming Dad," I said. "I'm just finishing my makeup."

"Okay Bells," He replied.

I waited till I heard him going down the stairs before I got out of my bed and headed for my adjoining bathroom. I washed my hands first, then my face. _Hold it together Bella, it's just a movie. You can do this._ I went back into my room and slipped into my dress – it hugged my slim middle, then fanned out at the hips and stopped above my knee. I pulled on my leggings and boots afterwards, then lifted my hair high off my neck and secured it with a blue clip. Once that was done, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I knew I wasn't as gorgeous as Rosalie – that I would _never _be – but I could admit that I looked a little better than my usual self. I pulled a couple of face-framing strands of hair out of my clip on the right side of my face, applied a light black eyeliner and mascara, and dabbed on some pink gloss.

Okay, I was ready to go.

_Deep breaths, Bella. You can do this. _I grabbed my purse and pulled my bedroom door close behind as I left. I took to the stairs slowly, not wanting to fall only a few seconds into seeing Edward. I surprised when he wasn't waiting at the staircase for me…then I told myself I needed to stop dreaming up that particular fantasy sequence.

"In the bathroom," Charlie provided for me.

I didn't have to wait long; Edward came out of the restroom, looking stunning. The way the green pinstripe button down clung attractively to his chest, the way his dark wash jeans hung on his frame, even the white sneakers were appealing. He smiled at me when we locked eyes, but his smile suggested that he knew something I didn't. I blushed, wondering if I was so transparent, and he knew that I was undeniably drawn to him. Although, that was something I had admitted to myself a long time ago.

"Shall we go?" His voice was unusually thick, though not unrecognizable. I remembered the tone from when we were in the hallway, and he had had me close to him.

I wondered if Edward was more into me than he let on, but I didn't press then – certainly not in front of Charlie. "Yeah, sure."

"Be back before twelve, Bells," Charlie said warningly.

"Yeah, Dad, bye," I said as the two of us went out the door.

"Your father is very protective of you," Edward noted as we walked towards his car.

"Yeah well, I am his only daughter."

Edward nodded in a 'this is so' way. To my surprise, he walked around and opened my door, helping me in before climbing into the driver's seat.

"I wouldn't want you to trip in those shoes," he teased.

I blushed and said nothing in response. He pulled off quickly, his hand gripping the gear shift hard. I found myself staring at the way his long fingers clenched the ball of the shift. I tried to focus my mind so it wouldn't wander back to the place it had been only a few minutes ago. I stared intently out the window.

"So why couldn't everyone else come with us?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"They all had other engagements," Edward replied smoothly. Then he added in a playful tone, "You don't want to go to the movies with just me?"

I frowned, unimpressed, considering that he was the one who did want to go out with _me _first. "Forgive me, I thought that all our interactions ended on Saturday."

"You won't let me live that down, will you?"

"Not easily," I said, folding my arms.

He glanced over at me, his eyes smoldering with inner heat. "Well I guess I should start putting in work, huh."

His voice was deep and gravelly as he spoke, and he forcefully switched gears right after the end of my sentence, immediately drawing my attention to his hands again. Instantly, I came up with a couple of ways that he could put in the work….

I titled my head away from Edward, lifting my hand to cover the cheek facing him as I felt my face getting red yet again.

We got to the theatre in no time to make the eight-fifteen show. Edward bought my ticket, no questions asked, then asked me for what kind of movie candy I liked. He bought me a pack of Rasinets and a small iced tea before we went to our theatre and found seats, with Edward in the aisle. The decision elicited every girl in the theatre coming to our row to find seats. Edward stood up politely each and every time, giving each girl a warm smile. The girl in turn, bumbled and giggled like an idiot, making bat eyes at Edward and doing over exaggerated hip sways as they walked down the row.

"That has to get annoying," I commented, after yet another girl came through, and Edward returned to his seat.

"What, being polite?"

"No, being harassed by females."

He chuckled. "I can't help it if someone finds me attractive."

"I guess not."

He gave me his killer crooked smile. "You can still be my number one," he said in a low voice.

I rolled my eyes, but my face had gone red anyway. "Shut up Edward."

_**Edward**_

I was flirting. It was strange, but so much fun at the same time. I hadn't flirted with anyone in…too long to count. Of course I had been nice to females before, and maybe I had flirted unintentionally once or twice. But this playful banter between us was something I hadn't done before.

I liked it. I shouldn't have, but I did.

This roller coaster of an evening just wouldn't stop. First I arrived at Bella's house much too early, and had to make awkward conversation with Bella's father for a few minutes. Then I heard the rattling and creaking noises from upstairs. Charlie must have noticed my change in expression, because he started to hear the noises too. He might have started to make excuses for the noises, but I was hardly listening anymore. My focus was on upstairs.

The pheromones hit my nose first, making me heady. It didn't take me long to realize that I was being filled with Bella's desire. I bit my lip, and focused all my senses on upstairs. Soon, I could not only smell her, but hear her. She was turning and rolling, and soft moans came from her body. I could only imagine what she was doing to herself up there.

My imagination left me hard as a rock.

I gruffly excused myself to the nearest restroom and closed the door shut. Now, in the bathroom, it seemed Bella's sounds were magnified to me. The creaking of the bed was loud, and each time she dragged her legs up and down her sheets, I could hear it. Her moans were amplified, driving me insane. My hand dropped to my zipper, and in the next few seconds, I had my cock throbbing in my palm. My eyes were closed, and I began to stroke, picturing Bella in her bed. She would be on her back, completely nude, and a hand between her legs. The longer I watched her in my mind – in combination with the sexy noises of her self-gratification coming from upstairs – I began to wish that I was physically a part of her pleasure. That _I _was the one pleasuring her.

It was then that I heard my name come from upstairs in a breathless whispered.

_Edward._

I groaned, unable to resist the sound. Bella was thinking about me – pleasuring herself and thinking about me. Immediately my mental picturing of her changed to the two of us: me being on top of her, probing her with my shaft. I could only imagine the warmth her body would possess. Her back arched, and her entire body was flushed with red. So deliciously hot. I pushed into her harder, needing her to say my name again and again.

And she did: once, twice, three times. I loved it, I was so absolved with it all. I felt my knees buckling, but I didn't give in. I continued to work her, worked us both. _Climax for me Bella. Do it._

"_Oh god, Edward!"_

My rod twitched, and my hand felt warm. My breathing seemed erratic, which was strange since I only took breaths in order to blend in with society. When my eyes opened, I was treated to the sight of my secretion in my palm. Luckily, there wasn't much mess than that. I washed my hands as clean as possible, while trying to get my mind straight.

I wasn't even sure how this had happened in the first place. I could blame the pheromones that she had been releasing at first. But then I really thought about it: I fucking wanted Bella Swan. I wanted to make her cry out like that _for real_.

Should have been the first sign that things were no longer in my control, but I continued on with our date regardless. I cleaned myself up just in time for when she came downstairs and we left together. We made our small talk and I took my first shot at flirting with her, and I thoroughly enjoyed the response. Her eyes fell down to my hands, which gave me a good idea of what she had been fantasizing about a few minutes earlier – no mind reading necessary.

Then once we got to the theatre, I tried flirting part two, to even more positive response. By the time the lights dimmed and the movie started, I was so into Bella that it surprised me. I could barely keep my eyes on the screen, always glancing sideways to drink her in. The exposed skin of her neck looked delicious, and that sweet scent of hers was radiating onto me. Even the length and curve of her eyelashes was a turn-on. I wanted to touch her, but I knew that she had been too perceptive to my temperature once before. Instead I pressed my hands into my lap, simultaneously pressing down against my hardening rod as well.

Fuck all of this. It was too much to deal with. I felt like I was a hormonal teenager as opposed to a hundred year old vampire. The smarter, more rational side of me said to end the date there and now, before things got beyond my control. But the rest of me wanted to lift the fucking armrest between us so that I could lean over and bury my nose in her hair.

The movie made Bella laugh, which I enjoyed thoroughly. I smiled, not due to the movie, but because I was being treated to the sound of her laughter. Occasionally she would look over at me, mid laugh, her lips lifted into a smile and eyes crinkled slightly, and all I could think was, _man this girl was fucking adorable. _By the time the movie ended, I wasn't ready to be rid of her yet.

"Ice cream?" I suggested politely, as we left the theatre.

"Sure," she said easily. All the wariness and defenses that she had earlier seemed to have melted away. "I could go for some ice cream."

We talked about the movie as I drove to the nearest ice cream parlor, and I found myself enjoying the sound of her voice as she spoke. I might have only nodded and gave a few words in agreement or disagreement, but really, I just allowed myself to soak in the decibels of her tone. When we arrived at the parlor, she ordered a small cup of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Then she looked at me speculatively.

I shrugged. "Lactose intolerant." _Easy._

"No way," she said with widen eyes. "Why'd you suggest getting ice cream then?"

"Because I figured _you _liked ice cream," I said. Then I added, "And I wanted to spend more time with you of course."

She gave me some of that adorable blush. "Whatever, Edward," she said in a shy murmur.

I guided her to a table, lightly pressing my hand against the small of her back. We sat across from each other and she dove into her ice cream. I tried to keep the conversation directed on her, and she told me about her mother, Renee – who lived in Jacksonville with her stepfather – and that she missed her from time to time, but was more or less happy to be getting a break from her "worrisome" mother. She told me about her relationship with Charlie; that while it wasn't close, it was definitely functional.

When she brought up Jacob Black, I tried to keep my face neutral. But I was disgusted that she hung out with the mutt. Jacob Black was the leader of a pack that my coven couldn't appreciate – they judged us on the surface, without realizing that we were not like other vampires who drank human blood. I had figured once Jacob, a younger wolf, had risen to the title of Alpha, that there would be more understanding between us. But he just continued the tradition of calling us a bunch of bloodsuckers and that was the end.

Although, it was nice to know that I wasn't the only one keeping secrets from Bella. I doubted highly that Bella knew about Jacob's double life as a werewolf.

"Do you know Jacob?" she asked me, taking me from my thoughts.

"Somewhat," I replied. "We aren't really close."

She seemed to sigh in relief, which made me curious. Damn this wall that kept me from her thoughts. I glanced down at my watch, and realized it was eleven-thirty. "Time to get you home Bella," I said, with regret.

She seemed just as reluctant as I felt, but we both got up anyway and returned to my car. This time, we rode in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. I had seen enough movies and television shows to know that a date ride back in silence was not necessarily a bad sign. I kept the engine running when I got to her house, so that if Charlie was waiting up he could hear that I wasn't lingering. Still, I walked her to her door.

"I had a good time Edward," she said. "A better time than I thought I was going to have."

"Funny, I feel the same way," I said, honestly.

She rolled her eyes at me, but she still smiled. Then I watched as her smile faded slowly, and her expression became one of anticipation. Again, I deduced quickly enough what she wanted to happen next without needing to read any minds.

She wanted me to kiss her.

Fuck.

And I wanted to kiss her back.

Fuck.

She took a step closer to me, and I was surprised by her assertiveness. I knew I needed to take control of things, my mind was basically yelling at me to do so. But when I tried, it failed epically.

I had put my hands on her shoulders in an attempt to dissuade her, but instead, my actions empowered her, and she craned her head towards mine. I had already been looking down at her, so my head was at prime angle for lip contact.

Her touch was soft, but sudden. She pulled back so instantly, it was as if the kiss never happened. Not that I was shocked at that part, she mustn't' had expected my lips to be freezing.

"I can explain," I started pathetically, knowing that I really couldn't.

Her eyes were wide, but then dropped to a level of seduction. "Don't," she said in a breathless tone just before kissing me again.

Now I was just fucking stunned.

I was responding for damn sure, pulling her body close to mine and allowing her to wrap her arms around my neck to pull me close to her. But my mind had gotten completely blank, and I was going on sheer primal instincts. She didn't come up for breath, and I didn't need it, so as far as I was concerned, we were going to be molded there together in a kiss, our tongues dancing, forever.

Except her father yelled from the front window: "Isabella Marie Swan, what the hell?!"

She ripped away from me, which was all I needed to get my senses back. Firstly, I wondered if in my blankness, I had maybe held her too hard, revealed my true strength. Then I scolded myself: what the fuck did that matter? I _kissed _her.

_Nah, she kissed you. _But that didn't make it much better.

She turned back to me, her face flushed but her expression happy. "Sorry, I have to go," she said hurriedly. "But I'll call you, and maybe we could do this again?"

"Bella–"

She pressed her lips to mine innocently again, and I felt that blankness once more. Then she disappeared into her house.

I knew Chief Officer Swan was probably following me with angry eyes as I wobbled back to my car, but I was too busy caught up in my own whirlwind of thoughts and emotions to worry about it. By the time I finally made to the driver's seat, I realized my mouth was tingling.

What the fuck just happened?

* * *

**Can I just say quickly that I don't really get the whole "Bella-Edward-Pregnancy" thing in Breaking Dawn just yet. I mean, I read the book but...if vampires are supposed to be dead, how did Edward reproduce the sperm in the first place? I'm just thinking out loud right now, it's not anything serious, and it doesn't change my opinion on the book:: I just wonder.**

**But hey, at least it means that Edward can have a climax! That makes for great fic writing! =)**

**Be sure to review! Until my next update**

**--Brin--**


	5. Chapter 4, So Now What?

**Sorry for the long wait! So much has been going on with me: July 4 weekend took me away for my computer, and then I just got a job, so now THATS going to take up a lot of my time. But I haven't forgotten this story, and hopefully you all haven't either. So here's a Bella chapter, for you all to enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight does not belong to me. Neither does it components, nor does its characters**

* * *

**Chapter Four, So Now What?**

_**Bella**_

_I was running through the forest, my heart calling to something ahead of me. My legs were ready to give out – I felt that I had been running so long – but I couldn't stop. My heart wouldn't let me stop. I finally came to a clearing, and found what my heart was looking for._

_Edward._

_His back was facing me, and he was looking up into the sky. The sunlight was shining on him, making his skin sparkle. I was mystified by the thousands of thousands of diamonds glittering in his flesh. I almost didn't want to call to him – I wanted to stand off and watch his beauty forever._

_But there were more important things at hand._

"_Edward," I whispered._

_He turned to look at me, face shining. Then he came towards me, leaving the sunlight. The closer he got, I realized that his eyes were the color of midnight._

"_Bella." He touched my face once he was close enough._

"_I've thought about it Edward," I told him. "I've thought about it long and hard. And I know what I want to do. I've made my choice."_

_He frowned at me, pulling his hand away from my face. He turned away from me, and looked as if he was going to walk away from me. I latched myself onto his arm._

"_Edward, please," I said, my voice begging._

"_Bella, you don't know what you're talking about. You don't understand the full extent of this situation."_

_My hands felt numb from holding his onto his cold arm, but I still wouldn't let go. I refused to let him go. I could feel him trying to shrug me off of him, but he was only doing it halfheartedly – he was so much stronger than me, that one shrug would have had me falling backwards. And that showed me, that deep inside, Edward refused to let me go as well._

"_Bella–"_

"_Edward, the way I feel about you is unlike any way I've ever felt for anyone else. I know that I want to be with you. I know that I want to be with you, for as long as I can be with you. And if the option of all eternity is there, then yes, I want to take it."_

"_Bella," Edward turned around to face me, his eyes hard and narrowed. "You can't get your humanity back once you give it up. This decision is irreversible, final. If you end up regretting this, you'll be regretting it forever."_

"_There's no way I could regret choosing to be with you," I replied in earnest. My heart was fluttering wildly, and I knew I was facing possible rejection, but I looked up into those midnight eyes and said, "I love you Edward Cullen."_

_I saw the corner of his lips twitch into a smile, but he fought to keep his face neutral. I wanted him to smile, but instead his self control won out, and his face became stoic again. "Bella–"_

"_Don't you love me back?" I had to ask, my voice trembling._

_I felt his hands on my waist, and he pulled me close to his cold diamond hard body. I shuddered with the cold on impact, but I kept my eyes locked on with his._

_He nodded once. "I love you."_

_The words sounded more beautiful to my ears than I imagined they would have. I melted into his arms, resting my head on his shoulder. He held me close, and I felt warmed, despite his cold skin._

"_I want this Edward," I whispered, laying my hand flat on his marble chest._

"_I know."_

"_Will you give it to me?"_

_He drew me back slightly, so our eyes could meet. A decision lay in those dark irises. He pushed my dark hair off my shoulders, letting my mane cascade down my back, and leaving my neck exposed._

"_Yes," was all he said in a breath._

_I watched his head dip down towards my neck, and I titled my chin away for easier access. I heard him whisper the words, "Forever," just before I felt the puncturing of my neck. I hissed at the contact, and a groan left my throat._

_It burned; the venom coursing through my veins as it replaced my blood. I felt weak, my knees giving out. But safe in Edward's embrace, I didn't fall. He stayed on my neck, lowering both of us slowly, until I found myself lying on my back in the soft grass._

_Edward detached himself from me, but stayed positioned above me, his eyes now the color of blood. My blood._

"_It's finished," he told me._

_I twitched, and gasped. "Edward," I murmured. I wanted to move my hand to hold his, but I couldn't. I couldn't move at all, paralyzed from the venom, burning with pain. "Edward," I hissed, feeling my voice disappearing._

_As if knowing exactly what I needed – his touch – he took my hand, and the coolness immediately eased my burning. He then pressed his forehead to mine, and whispered, "I love you Bella Swan…Bella Cullen. Your end is our beginning."_

*

I woke up in a cold sweat, heart pounding. Subconsciously, my hand went to the side of my neck, feeling for bite marks. Once I had convinced myself that I wasn't injured, I tried to calm myself down.

But I couldn't.

I just dreamed that Edward was a fucking _vampire. _And I had asked him to make me into a vampire as well – so we could be together. My body still felt as if it was burning with venom from my dream. I sat up in my bed and pushed my hair out of my face.

_Okay Bella, this was only a dream. Don't get too worked up._

But I couldn't help it. The dream seemed too…_fitting _almost. Dream Edward – Vampire Edward – was cold and hard just like…_real _Edward.

_Don't be ridiculous, Edward is not a vampire._

And I knew this: because vampires and werewolves and things like that were fictional creatures. And yet, I couldn't get my mind off the fact that vampire Edward and real Edward were interchangeable. More importantly, I realized that I wasn't scared to think about Edward being a vampire. It actually made more sense if he was…

_No it doesn't, you looney bird._

I couldn't listen to the rational part of my mind right now. My head was still full of my dream. I watched it again from a third person view – watched myself get drained of blood and turn even paler than I already am – a complexion that of Edward's. _And Alice's, and Emmett's, and Jasper's, and even perfect Rosalie._

_Oh my god, am I dealing with a whole coven of vampires?_

_No, you're dealing with an idiotic thought that holds no water, you fantasy science fiction freak._

Okay, maybe it made me a little bit of a freak to be indulging in the idea of Edward and his family being vampires, but wouldn't that explain everything? The reason that his whole family are in relationships with one another, because they aren't really _related_ at all.

_Because their adopted siblings._

And then Edward, and his freezing cold body temperature. And his great strength. And his super hard body.

_Already covered that last night Bella: he works out. Who doesn't?_

I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Again, I glanced down at my neck where I had dreamed up Edward's bite. _Still fine. _I took a long hot shower and tried to focus my thoughts on other things – I couldn't constantly go back and forth on this debate forever. And there was no way of _asking _Edward if he was a vampire or not. I mean, who does that?

But I soon realized, by the time I made it downstairs to start breakfast, that I couldn't stop thinking about the possibilities. If Edward was a vampire, how come he hadn't bitten me yet? Bitten anyone? There hadn't been any reports of human death recently within the area. Did he and his family go to other countries to feed? Were there _other _vampires besides them?

_Freak, freak, freak._

Okay, I needed some _real _distraction. So I picked up my phone and called Jake. I hadn't hung out with him in a while, and I didn't know anymore more distracting than him. Except maybe Alice, but right now didn't seem like a good time to turn to her.

So I called up Jake, and invited him over for breakfast. He happily agreed, and I realized how long it had been since I saw Jacob anyway. I decided to make French toast – Jacob's favorite – along with scrambled eggs and bacon. By the time I was still turning eggs, I heard a knock at my door.

"Hey, that was fast," I said once I found Jacob standing in front of my door.

"Yeah well, you know me. When it comes to food, I don't slack," he replied with a grin. Then he scooped me up – literally, as in off the floor – and into his arms, giving me a warm squeeze. "It's so nice to see you Bella. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

I smiled in his embrace, forgetting just how warm Jacob could be.

Maybe it had to do with the cold person I had been hanging out with as of late?

_Don't. Go. There Bella._

"It's nice to see you too Jake, but you have to put me down, or else we'll be dealing with some burnt eggs in a second," I said.

Jacob chuckled, but set me back on the floor. I returned to the kitchen to finish up our meal, before serving both of us a plate.

"French toast!" Jacob cheered once I brought set his plate in front of him. He smiled up at me widely. "You're the best, Bella Swan."

"No need to butter me up now Jake, I already made the toast," I replied as I sat down.

"Come on Bells, you know I'd think you were the best even if you _didn't _make the toast."

I winced. "Why do you call me Bells? _Charlie _calls me Bells."

"And it's probably not cute when he does it. But it's cute when I do it, so ha!"

I laughed. "Fine, fine, you win."

"I always win."

We finished breakfast and following me washing dishes, we adjourned to the living room. I curled up next to Jacob and he put his arm around me. It was almost too easy to get close Jacob – he was just so warm all the time. _In contrast to someone else I know…._

"Jake, do you know Edward Cullen?"

I could feel Jacob tense, and heard him growl in disgust. "Yeah I know that bloodsucker, though I'd rather not know his ass."

"Bloodsucker?" _How oddly appropriate._

"Consider that my affectionate nickname for the man. Anyway, why do you ask if I know him or not?"

I shrugged. "He and I have been hanging out. We went on," I paused, "a date you could call it."

"You went on a date with Edward Cullen?" Jacob said, in a less than impressed tone. "Did you hide your neck from him?" He added with a scoff.

"What are you getting at Jacob?" I had to ask. Everything he was saying seemed to be too coincidental for it to be just coincidence.

Jacob glanced down at me, his dark eyes blazing. He shook his mop of shaggy dark hair and said, "Nothing Bells. I just don't like the guy, and I think you could do better when it comes to picking guys."

I frowned at Jacob. "Thanks for sounding like my _dad_."

Jacob wasn't even moved by comment. "Well someone has to warn you if he isn't telling you."

"Telling me what?"

Then I heard Jacob whisper, "I guess even the bloodsucker has his secrets."

I was shaking inside with curiosity. "What secrets? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. I don't want to talk about Edward-fucking-Cullen," Jacob said in a dangerous tone. Then suddenly, he looked down and smiled at me. "What do you say you and I get out of here? Go down to the beach or something."

I kept up my frown at Jacob. I didn't like that he was hinting at something, but suddenly wanted to talk about something different once I picked up on his hints. More importantly, he just so happened to be hinting at something that I had been going back and forth in my mind since I've been awake.

"I don't feel like the beach," I said coolly. "And I think Alice wanted to hang out later."

It was a total lie, but I suddenly realized that Jacob's presence did little to ease my mind.

Jacob didn't like my lie though. "You're _friends _with one of the bloodsucker's family members?"

"Why the fuck do you keep calling them that Jake? Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Yeah, I am, Bella. Stay. Away. From. The. Cullens. Just stay far away from them. They're bad news for anyone with a pulse."

I wanted Jacob to elaborate on that – to tell me what he knew of them – but then I heard my phone ringing from upstairs. "I'll be right back Jacob."

I rushed up the stairs, taking them two at a time, getting to my room and getting the call just in time. It was Alice: "Hey girlie, I was just thinking about you. What say you and I go and do a little shopping for Halloween? I wanna get my costume shopping done early."

"Yeah Alice, that sounds great. Come pick me up. I'm dressed."

"Can do. I'll be there soon enough."

We hung up, and I took my phone and purse with me when I went back downstairs. I found Jacob standing by the foot of the stairs, his eyes full of remorse. "Listen Bells, I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. And I shouldn't let my dislike for the Cullens affect your relationship with them, even if _I _don't like it that you associate with them."

I smiled, appreciating the apology – I knew it must have taken him a lot to say it to me. "Thanks Jake."

"But listen to me Bella," he said, his voice taking on a warning tone. "The Cullens _are _bad news. I can't make decisions for you, but I can offer my two cents. And in my opinion, I'd tell you to get out of it now before it's too late for you. Before something we'd all regret has to happen."

On a normal basis, I would have just joked with Jacob for being so cryptic in his messaging. But with my dream still reeling in my mind, and with his previous comments linking perfectly with the dream images, I suddenly had a weird feeling that Jacob was on to something.

"What are you talking about Jake?" I said in calmer tone. Jacob was a hothead, and if I yelled at him, all he'd do is yell back. But if I stayed soothing, maybe I could get something worthwhile out of him. "I want to understand where you're coming from. I trust your judgment, you know that."

"I know." Jacob sighed. "I just don't think you'll believe me if I told you."

My heart started thumping wildly in my chest. "Tell me Jacob," I said.

He looked torn to speak, but I didn't push him, no matter how much I wanted to. I knew Jacob would open up to me soon enough.

And he did. Gently he took my hand and lead me back into the living room.

*

Alice was a whirlwind of excitement in the costume shop, already holding seven different costumes and still on the hunt for more. I followed behind her as quickly as I could, but she was moving so fast from different wings of the room, that I decided it would be better just to wait for her at the fitting rooms.

I was lost in thought, but I made a point to keep some focus on Alice so that she wouldn't notice I was off in my own mind. Jacob's words were still turning in my head, leaving me in a state of confusion and curiosity.

"_My father told me the story of the Cullens. They used to live here about twenty years ago, when my dad was much younger. And they looked exactly the same way then as they do now."_

"_What do you mean by that?"_

"_I mean they don't age, Bella. They've probably been alive for more than a hundred years. They're undead."_

_I raised an eyebrow. "Like zombies, Jake?" I said in a joking tone._

_Jacob blushed slightly. _"_Oh, well then I didn't mean 'undead'," he said quickly. "I meant immortal," His voice lowered completely. "My father believes – as do I – that the Cullens are a coven of vampires."_

"Bella, aren't you going to pick a costume?" Alice called to me as she passed me for the umpteenth time. "You know, I'm thinking of having a Halloween party at my house, and inviting most of our year over. What do you think?"

"Um," I tried to pull myself from my thoughts and into the conversation with Alice. "That sounds great Alice, it should be really cool."

Alice raised an eyebrow at me. "You okay Bella? You seem all over."

"Do I?"

Alice gave her a long look, but then turned away just as suddenly as she came. I blew out a sigh of relief, glad that Alice didn't push me any further. Especially considering that I was contemplating asking her whether or not she _was _vampire.

I knew the idea of asking was crazy, but I was still tempted to ask. My conversation with Jacob hit way too many nails on the head, making it almost impossible for me not to query the situation.

"_Back when my dad was younger and the Cullens lived in Forks, Dad said that there used to be mysterious deaths in the area. Not just in Forks, but down in La Push as well. And well, my dad's culture and history basically goes against everything the Cold Ones have to offer."_

"_Cold Ones?"_

"_It's what they're called in my family history. Anyway, my dad confronted them on the deaths, and they said something about how one of their own was struggling with their 'thirst', and they were very apologetic about it. Not that my dad took their apology seriously – they drink blood for god's sakes. Anyway, they tried to convince my dad that they weren't like the other Cold Ones who live on human blood – that they drink animal blood or something like that. But then they had just admitted that one of their own was finishing off humans, you know? So Dad told them to never come on La Push grounds again, or else they'd face major consequences. And they obliged – they even went so far as to leave the area all together. But then they came back a few years ago, so now I keep my eye on them in my dad's place."_

"_What do you mean, you keep their eye on them?"_

"_I mean, there haven't been any deaths as of late. But the very next human they kill around here will result in some dangerous consequences. And it's my job to make sure that everything goes according to plan if they fail."_

"_What's the plan?"_

_Jacob's face suddenly looked like he said too much. "That part doesn't matter. I just wanted to let you know what was up with the Cullens, and why you should stay away from them. Because if you end up being next on their menu, I'm going to deal with each of them personally."_

I didn't want to fuck around with Jacob at that point: the look in his eyes was a perilous one. So I told him that I would be on my guard at all times. Thankfully, Jacob left before Alice came for me.

It wasn't like I said I'd _stay away _from them – I just said I'd be on my guard. But Jacob had reignited the same curiosity in me that I had called him over to distract me from. Now it wouldn't stop tormenting – this idea that the whole Cullen family was a coven of vampires. If anything, Jacob made me want to be around the Cullens even more _now. _I never really thought that Jacob's father, Billy, always had all his screws in, but I could believe the traditions. And when I did my own research on the Quileute culture, I found that Jacob's story corroborated with what I had read up. Although Jacob seemed to avoid heavily, the part about the Quileutes being descendents of shape-shifters, and changing into wolves at will, and it was the long-standing feud between the wolves and the vampires that brought about this inner hatred in the first place.

_Jacob hates Edward, the vampire. Jacob hating Edward, because of his culture's history and the feud between the wolves and the vampires._

_Jacob, a wolf?_

_Now you're just getting all over the place, Bella Swan. Deal with one fantasy fiction at a time._

"What does it look like Bella?" Alice yelled through the wall of the fitting room.

I took a look at myself in the mirror, having put on the costume while I had been thinking. "It looks nice. It fits well."

"Buy it! Better yet, I'll get it for you. Consider it as my gift to you."

"Alice, _really_," I said, my tone almost begging. Alice had already given me a beautiful pair of red gloves, sent straight from Paris, as a 'surprise'. "I really can't have you buy me anymore things."

"Please Bella, it's no problem from me. I _need _someone to spoil. Every time I try to spoil Jazz, he just spoils be back! Which makes it kinda redundant, you know?"

"I suppose."

"I won't get you anything after this for the rest of the month, okay?"

"The month ends next week!"

Alice just shushed me loudly, before letting out a giggle. I smiled to myself as I slipped out of the costume and put it back on the hanger. The two of us came out of the fitting room together, Alice still holding about five different costumes.

"Still not sure yet which one I'm going to get, so I think I'll just buy them all. And whatever calls to me on the day, I'll buy that one."

"Nice Alice."

She took the costume from my hands and went up to the cash register. I followed behind her silently, still debating how to start this awkward conversation. _"So Alice, I hear you drink blood. Is that true?" _I shuddered to myself: something about that approach told me it wouldn't go over well. _"Alice, this may sound weird, but I just wanted to know if you and you're family were really vampires masquerading as human beings."_

I wondered if Alice could foresee me thinking up this conversation. Jacob was telling me that some vampires had a history of having special powers, and he was certain that the "pixie-looking" Cullen had the gift of foresight: _my dad says she always seemed to be one step ahead of the rest of her coven. And she seemed to have a vague idea of what was going on with us too, though not as clearly. The only person that seemed to be on par with her was Edward - I think he might have something special up his sleeve as well._

Of course, Jacob could have just been fabricating that part in order to get me to understand the seriousness of the danger in dealing with the Cullen family. But then again, why would he make up anything else after knowing full well that his story already sounded ridiculous on its own?

God, this whole _situation _was getting to be ridiculous! I was just constantly going back and forth in my mind about something that could literally only end up being a product of mine – and Jacob's – wild imagination! I just needed to talk to Alice. Clearly I wanted to, and it would be much better than talking to _Edward _about it.

"I need to ask you something, Alice," I said finally, as we walked towards the food court.

"Are you hungry?" she asked me suddenly.

"Uh–"

"I'm starving!" she said.

_Ask her now! Ask her now! _"Uh, what do you want to eat?" I asked her tentatively.

Alice shook her head, her dark gold eyes dancing. "Nothing I can get in the food court. But we'll get something for you first, and I'll take care of my needs later."

I took a deep breath, and tried to get my act together. "Alice–"

She spun around so suddenly, blocking my path completely. "Come on, let's go over here – away from the crowds."

"But why–?"

"I know what you're about to ask," she said to me quickly, still pulling me aside. With her hand on my wrist, I could feel how cold her skin was. And her grip was so strong, I could hardly resist her dragging me around.

She pulled us into a quieter section of the mall and then said to me, "Alright, ask."

I folded my arms. "I thought you knew what I was going to ask."

She looked up at me, worried. "I do," she said quietly. "But I want you to talk first."

I took a deep breath, feeling my muscles relax almost instantly. Suddenly, I felt more comforted knowing that Alice knew what I was going to ask her – even if it was strange that she knew in the first place. _Gift of foresight? _"I was talking to Jacob, and he told me this story. About your family. About how your true nature."

Alice waited patiently, her eyes on me. It was then I noticing the darkening in them. I could still see the gold, but the color had gotten much darker. "What happened to your eyes?" I asked her softly.

Her face stayed straight. "They get darker when I get hungry." She paused, her eyes flickering away momentarily, then coming back on me. "When I get thirsty," she said, correcting herself.

"Thirsty, for…" I gulped, couldn't help it. It was all about to come out right now. "For blood?"

Alice nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yes."

I swallowed hard again. _Here we go, here we go, here we go. _"Because you're a vampire?"

"Yes," she said almost breathlessly. "Because I'm a vampire."

* * *

**Is this a cliffie? Only if you thinks so. My next chapter will be an Edward chapter (or I'm pretty sure it's going to be an Edward chapter, but we'll have to see as things boil down), I just felt that this one had to be a Bella chapter.**

**Don't forget to review! They motivate me to write more!**

**Until my next update.**

**--Brin--**


	6. Chapter 5, Confrontations

**Sorry, sorry, sorry for my absence! I've been working hard and going over this chapter until I felt it was just right. So I hope you like all of this, and I appreciate your patience!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine, neither the characters nor the components**

* * *

**Chapter Five, Confrontations**

_**Edward**_

I knew what the best move would be at this point – avoid Bella Swan at all costs. Certainly there was no way to reverse our actions of Saturday night, but I could at least prevent them from happening a second time. I would just satisfy myself with that very, very intense and delicious kiss and never go near Bella Swan again.

Except, she should up at school Monday morning wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a white turtleneck sweater and flat white boots, and all her hair was falling gracefully around her in a sensual dark waterfall – creating the definition of 'tempting'. I had been coming out of the boys' bathroom when I spotted Bella, walking shyly with her eyes focused solely on what was in front of her. I knew what I had to do – brush passed her without any eye contact, walk away from her in the fastest speed I could muster without drawing attention to myself. Anything, to avoid her.

But I waited – I stood there a few feet away from the bathroom door, waiting for her to notice me standing there. Because she looked beautiful. Because the way her hair blew gracefully behind her as she walked made her scent swirl around the room and fill my nostrils. Because the simplicity of her ensemble only accented her best assets: the soft curve of her breasts, the length of her legs, the slimness of her frame.

Damn girl.

Her eyes fluttered up momentarily, and I saw her face go red with surprise when her eyes met mine. I found myself smiling at her, in hopes to relax her a bit, but it only made her flush further. I smiled inside at her behavior – damn I loved me some Bella Swan. Suddenly, my original avoidance plan seemed miles away.

I stepped out into the hallway, purposely blocking her path. "Hey," I said pleasantly.

"Hi," she chirped. She tucked that gorgeous mane of her behind her ears, and looked down bashfully. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," I told her. "And you?"

She blushed further – as if she couldn't get anymore adorable. "Good," she whispered. Suddenly her eyes locked on with mine with an intensity I wasn't accustomed to from her. "Do you wanna take a walk later? During lunch?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What for, may I ask?"

"Just to talk," was all she said.

I heard the warning bells going off in my head, but somehow, I continued to ignore them – it wasn't that hard, I had been ignoring the warning bells that came with Bella Swan since the first time I realized I couldn't hear her thoughts. Even now, I wished I could probe her mind and find out exactly what she wanted to talk about later – and yet, not knowing aroused my curiosity of her even more.

"Well, I guess I could skip out on lunch this one time," I said casually.

She gave me a knowing look, one that unnerved me for a moment. "I guess you could," she said slowly.

I looked at her suspiciously, but she said nothing more, except, "Well, I'll see you at lunch then, at the school steps?"

"Sure, of course," I said carefully.

She smiled at me and gave me a slight nod before turning away and walking towards her next class. I watched her go, the last look she gave me still lingering on me. I wondered if maybe I was in for something I wasn't quite ready for by agreeing to this meeting.

Then I told myself not to go there – I was in for something I wasn't quite ready for by agreeing to interact with Bella in the first place, and I had been doing that two Saturdays straight. What was the point of worrying about things now?

Besides, I was in too deep at this point. I liked Bella – I had a great time with her Saturday night, the kiss was unlike anything I've ever felt before, and her blushing red cheeks were more than just a turn on. There was nothing I could about the way I felt about her now, except for just to go with it and see what happens. I just had to make sure that I stayed in control of things: that there would be no more Saturday night slipups – no matter how much I enjoyed it.

Fuck, this was confusing. Part of me wanted to become so deeply engrossed in Bella Swan that I was beginning to have thoughts of her that I hadn't had for anyone since humanity. The other part of me told me that this was the exact reason why I should stay away from Bella, before things became perilous. But then that first part of me would just go back and say that staying away from Bella Swan was equivalent to avoiding quenching thirst – perilous.

There was no way to win it seemed, so I tried not to think about it anymore as I headed to class.

_Just don't tell him I told you Jazz, okay. I want Eddie to find out on his own._

The distinct timbre of Alice's voice was unmistakable. In the next two seconds, I found her around the corner, standing closely to Jasper. He had his arm around her, holding her close, nodding to what she had said – _Just don't tell him I told you Jazz I want Eddie to find out on his own_.

_Find out what, pray tell?_

Then my eyes met Jasper's, and I heard him whisper to her: _Edward._

Alice spun around, her face bright and cheerful. "Eddie, hi!" she said, in an incredibly perky and unnatural tone.

I narrowed my eyes, already suspicious. "What," I growled, "do I need to find out on my own?"

Alice's eyes widened with shock and surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Please Alice, your feigning innocence needs work."

"There's no worries, man," Jasper said casually. "We were just talking."

"I realize that, but what about?"

Alice looked hesitant, which prompted Jasper to speak again. "About this weekend. It's Halloween, and Alice wanted to have a party at our place."

"A party!" I bellowed.

"Relax, man," he said, and I felt myself doing such almost immediately. Damn Jasper and that emotional control of his. "This is why we were meeting in secret. No one knows how to tell you anything lately, you're so testy these days."

"Exactly," Alice said, agreeing instantly. "Exactly! I was just talking about having a get together at our place for Halloween. It could be nice. Stop being so testy!"

"And we could all dress up as vampires, too, right?" I seethed in an angry whisper.

"Well I was going to come dressed as something else," Alice said in a hard tone. "_You _can come as a vampire if _you _want to. I was going to take Bella costume shopping sometime this week actually."

"So is that what this is really about?" I asked her. "Bella?"

"No its about a Halloween party, loser," Alice said in a huff and an eye roll.

"Well you'd be ecstatic to know that Bella and I are going for a walk off campus during lunch," I said smugly. "So we'll be hanging out then."

"Oh really, huh? Well that should be fun, right? Right?"

My eyes narrowed again – I heard the nervous chirp return in Alice's voice. Just as I was about to ask her what exactly was she getting at, I felt Jasper calm me down yet again. "That should be nice, you and Bella," he said coolly. "I'm glad the two of you are getting along so well."

I wanted to avoid Jasper's pull on me, but it was almost impossible. I tried to garner something from Alice's thoughts – anything to merit my suspicion of her – but she seemed to only be thanking Jasper repeatedly in her mind. And that was suspicious in of itself, but there was nothing to substantial to pin on her.

"You two are up to something," I said finally.

"You already know," Jasper said. "Now we aren't up to anything but cutting this next class."

Alice giggled in a way that sent red flags my direction. "Ew," I said simply. "I'm out of here."

"Good move," Jasper called after me as I turned away from the two of them

I wouldn't let Alice get away with…whatever she was trying to get away with so easily. Now that I was away from Jasper, I was regaining control of my senses. It was obvious that if they were really trying to keep the Halloween party from me, they wouldn't have given up the information so easily. It had to be a cover for something else – something bigger.

I would tinker around in Alice's mind much later – right now I was pretty sure I did not want to be involved with the thoughts she was having now.

*

Lunch came so quickly, I wondered if time hadn't been sped up when I wasn't looking. Suddenly I was being from my class before lunch. While everyone rushed for the cafeteria, I headed towards the front steps. Bella was already waiting there, her back facing me. I found myself taking in the soft outline of her body, and the waves of her dark hair cascading down her back.

Without even noticing, I muttered, "Damn," before I could stop myself.

Bella turned around, her hair turning with it, and giving me a brush of her delicious scent. I bit my bottom lip, and tried to put on approachable face, "Hello Bella."

"Hello Edward," she said softly. "Are you ready to go?"

"You have a place all planned out for us then?"

She reddened slightly, but nodded. "I know of a place."

"Well then, lead the way."

I walked behind her slowly as she led us away from the school and towards the forest's edge. As she wandered through the large green trees, the thoughts of others begun to fade. It was one of the reasons I loved this forest – somehow, I was able to go far enough to escape people's ongoing thoughts. Mind-reading may have been an advantage in some ways, but most ways, it was a constant headache to have to hear people twittering about the most meaningless of things. And of course, due to my inability to hear Bella's thoughts, I was soon achieving a state of complete silence.

In fact, the clearing in which Bella came to a stop in, turned out to be the very same clearing that I usually escaped to when I wanted to be alone with my own thoughts, rather than be bothered with others. There was a large patch of soft green grass, outlined with tall pine trees and the edge of a cliff. Bella took out the view of the lush valley, before coming down on the ground and lying on her back in the grass. The accent of the green against her white clothes and pale skin made her appear more heavenly than usual.

"Are you just going to stand there?" she said teasingly, her face red but her voice confident.

I grinned and joined her down on the ground, lying on my stomach and propping myself up with my elbows. Bella's upturned face and slightly flushed neck made me want to sink my teeth into her flesh. I swallowed the venom pooling in my mouth, and forced a smile onto my face to hide the desire.

"You okay?" she whispered.

I wondered if she could see my desire flashing in my eyes or something. "Yeah, I'm fine." But I wasn't, because my voice had dropped to a dangerous low level – the kind any predator would use to reel in prey.

And it seemed to work with Bella, because she leaned up closer, bringing her face only a few centimeters from mine. "You sure?" her voice had become a breath.

I grasped a large handful of grass, struggling to hold my composure. But fuck, Bella smelt so fucking good, and those soft lips of hers were a slight stretch away from mine. _Don't do it. Back the fuck up. Lighten the mood. Confuse her. Something!_

I smiled teasingly at her. "Well Bella Swan, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you're hitting on me."

She blushed, but didn't turn away from me, which surprised me in of itself – I was certain that she was going to shy away as usual. "Maybe," she said playfully. She leaned closer to me, until I could feel her soft breast pressing against my arm. "Do you like it?"

I stuttered – _fuck_ – my mouth opening and closing dumbly. My actions only egged Bella on more, and she leaned forward more until our lips touched. She was kissing me, only because I was too stunned to move. My body wanted to respond, but I fought the action.

_Stop this._

"Bella," I growled finally, ripping myself away from her touch.

"Yes," she breathed, leaning her head into my exposed neck and placing soft kisses there.

I groaned: why did she make me feel so fucking good? Why was I letting her do this? I tried to shake her off: _too much skin-on-skin contact. Too much._

"Stop," I said in a more forceful tone.

"I don't mind," she said slowly. She touched the side of my face and gently pulled my head towards hers so our eyes could meet. "I don't mind that your skin is always cold, that your body is harder than mine, that your eyes get darker when you're hungry–"

At first I had just been enjoying the softness of Bella's hand caressing my face, completely ignoring whatever she was saying, but her last sentence pulled me from the sensation. I jerked back from her quickly. "What?"

She titled her head, her expression open. "I don't mind, that–" she took a deep breath "–you're a vampire."

I looked at her wide-eyed, unable to believe that those words had left her mouth. Then I laughed it off, because it seemed like the right way to solve this pending problem. I laughed long and hard.

"That's funny, Bella," I said, once I was done forcing the laughter. "Me, a vampire."

"You _are _a vampire," she said in a certain tone. "I know Edward. You don't have to lie to me. I don't mind. I still like you. I still really like you."

She reached out to touch my hand at this point, but I pulled it away quickly. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I spoke to Alice," I murmured.

My eyes blazed when I met hers again. "You what?" I growled.

"Spoke to Alice," she said calmly, not intimidated by my anger. "But I had a dream before that, about us, about you biting me. And I wasn't afraid. I'm not afraid of–"

"You sound insane, Bella,"

"Your eyes are dark right now," she told me. "They darken when you're thirsty." She paused, then added challengingly. "Or else, tell me why suddenly they are suddenly the color of midnight, when they used to be the color of topaz?"

A sudden laugh left my throat and I glanced at her. "Topaz?"

She smiled at me shyly, her face reddening. "Liquid topaz."

I couldn't believe Bella had just admitted to me being a vampire, and I was already shifting away from the seriousness of the situation and back into the sexuality of it all. Suddenly I wanted to pull Bella beneath me, rip off all her clothes and fuck her senseless. _Liquid topaz._

She leaned closer to me again, as if she was hearing _my _thoughts. "It doesn't matter to me Edward," she said quietly. "I always knew there was something different about you anyway. This changes nothing between us."

Hearing her words brought me back to the reality of things. I stood up quickly. "It changes everything," I said firmly. "If you're so certain about what I am, you should be terrified about what I'm capable of."

"You drink animal blood," she said. "That's why you're eyes are gold instead red."

_Alice clearly told her everything, _I thought in frustration. "Don't be crazy, Bella."

"Don't lie to me, Edward," Bella said, her voice an angry shrill as she stood up. "I am not crazy. I know what you are, and I'm not afraid. It doesn't change anything and it doesn't matter to me. And if it doesn't matter to me, it shouldn't matter to you."

"We have to get back to school," I grumbled.

Her expression changed, from the open and friendly one, to one of sheer irritation. "So that's it?" She basically yelled at me.

I turned back at her, glaring. "I should have just ended things between us like I said I would."

She glared back. "You only said that because you're afraid about being a vampire and having a relationship with a human. And you shouldn't feel that way anymore, because like I said: I. Don't. Care."

I shook my head: because even as she was annoying me with all her blather, coming to all the right conclusions and totally ignoring my putdowns, she was still incredibly sexy with her angry red face and arms folded right under her bust.

"We have to go back."

"I'll find my own way," she said harshly. She stomped towards me, a fire in her chocolate brown eyes. "But this isn't over Edward. Trust me on that."

I stood in muted shock as Bella rushed away from me, whipping me slightly with her dark mane of her.

Fuck. It. All.

*

"ALICE!"

"Jesus, fuck, you're loud," Emmett moaned from the living room couch.

I glared at Emmett and the big guy actually shrunk away from me: proof that I must have looked beyond furious. "Where's Alice?" I seethed.

"I 'unno," Emmett murmured. "Her room, maybe? You can track her, can't you?"

"She's diverting her thoughts to hide from me, and its working frightfully well," I muttered angrily. "But she's here, I know it. Because I can feel Jasper here as well, trying to calm me down."

"And it is clearly _not working_, man," Emmett said. "What is _up _with you right now?"

"Nothing, expect wanting to _murder _Alice," I growled.

"Why would you want to do that?" Jasper said casually, as he came down the stairs.

I glared at him, but as usual, he seemed unfazed. I could feel him trying to relax me excessively, but I was much too mad to pay any attention. "Where's Alice?" I growled.

"She's coming," Jasper said coolly. "Just take a breather why don't you?"

I kept my eyes narrowed, turning away from Jasper as I saw Alice coming down the stairs. She didn't look scared as she should have been, but actually, way too calm for my likings. I snarled at her.

"You are a dumb fucking little pixie."

"Edward!"

Fuck – Esme was now standing in the living room, her eyes horrified. "Why the language?"

I tried to smile politely at her. "Sorry, Esme. I'm just a little angry with Alice."

"You're a little more than angry, dear," Esme said in that maternal tone of hers. "I can see that you're shaking."

"Well, just call me furious," I grumbled as I turned my attention back to Alice, who was now standing right in front me.

Her face was calm, and I saw Jasper place a comforting hand on her shoulder. I scowled at the both of them, but saved my angriest expression for Alice. With Esme in the room, I could no longer hurl the obscenities forming in my mind, but I would not let her get off so easily.

"I just had an interesting conversation with Bella Swan," I told her through closed teeth.

"Did you?" she said. "What about?"

"About vampires," I said. "And how _I am one._"

Esme gasped, already understanding the entire situation. "Alice honey, you didn't."

Alice turned to face Esme. "Yes Esme, I told Bella about us."

There was a shattering from upstairs, and in the next instant, Rosalie was barreling down the staircase, fire in her eyes. "You dumb fucking pixie!" she yelled.

"Rosalie, please!" Esme hissed, angry herself.

"Everyone needs to calm down," Jasper said, and instantly it was done.

Except for me of course, because I was still very much mad at Alice. "What were you thinking?" I hissed.

"I was thinking that Bella already knew almost everything," she told me. "She had a conversation with her friend, Jacob Black. You remember him don't you? The _Alpha _from La Push. Apparently Jacob didn't approve much of your budding relationship with the girl and he told her a story about _The Cold Ones._"

I knew I didn't like that fucking mutt.

"All I did," Alice continued, "was confirm what she bloody already knew. I can't really be the bad guy for that, now can I?"

"You could have denied it," I said in frustration.

"Considering the conversation with Bella that you just had, you know how hard it is to convince her of otherwise when she already has her mind made up."

I did – I could still remember the determination in her behavior when she called me out as a vampire. Nothing I said made a difference – she still held onto her claim, except she became more frustrated.

"I can't believe you'd do this to us Alice," Rosalie screamed. "We finally get to come back here, one of the best locations we've ever lived in, and you – excuse my French, Esme – _royally fucked it up _for _everyone!_"

"Rose, baby, calm down," Emmett said soothingly.

"That's no French I've ever heard."

Carlisle now entered the scene, and the whole Cullen coven was together. I caught Alice smiling to herself as if this was what she wanted all along. She had probably predicted this gathering hours ago and had been preparing ever since. My melting irritation for her came rushing back as she walked towards the center of the living room.

"Family," she said slowly. "Bella can be trusted, I promise. I wouldn't have confided our secret in just anyone. There's something special about Bella Swan – and Edward would vouch for me if he wasn't in such a horrible mood. She's really sweet, and has already double promised not to say a word to anyone. In fact–" She turned to me at this point "–she's happier with this knowledge because now she knows why you were acting like such a brat in the beginning. She's hoping that this will ultimately bring you two closer together."

Esme sighed. "Oh that's so sweet," she said softly. Then she gave us her best Esme-smile. "I mean, I don't really know this Bella girl, but she sounds nice enough. If you and Edward approve of her–"

"I don't approve!" I hissed.

"Not right now, you don't," Alice said quickly. "But if you were fed and happier, you would be singing her praises just like I am."

"Let's not get carried away there, Al," Jasper said. "Edward is not at the 'sing-praises' stage of things yet."

"Thank you," Edward said in relief. Jasper's emotional control could get annoying at times, but it did help him to keep a level head about things.

"Fine," Alice said with an eye roll. "But you _like _her, don't you Edward?"

Six pairs of eyes turned on me, all in different shades of gold. Rosalie's expression was the fiercest, as if she was going to pounce on me if I said the wrong thing. Also, her eyes were just as dark as mine, which meant on top of everything else, she was miserably hungry.

Sadly enough, I knew I was about to utter _the wrong thing. _"Yes," I muttered in a barely audible tone. "I like her."

Alice cheered, as if this had been the one thing she had wanted to hear this entire time. Esme turned doting mother eyes on him and Emmett waggled his eyebrows. There was an angry shriek from Rosalie before she stomped back up the stairs. Emmett quickly went after her, probably to calm her down.

"Listen, everyone has to get their hunting done before Saturday night," Alice said. "I want to have Halloween party here – nothing big," Alice added that last part quickly when she saw Carlisle narrow his eyes questioningly, "Just something to make us seem less unsociable as we're portrayed to be. And it should be fun, you know? I'll do all the work, so no one has to worry."

"Well you know I'd love to help Alice," Esme said.

"Thanks Esme," Alice said gratefully. Then she turned her attention back to me. "Don't be mad at me Edward. You know I do everything for your benefit."

"You have a weird way of showing that," I whispered at her fiercely. "And I'm still incredibly mad at you."

Alice shrugged but chuckled. "I'll deal with that, so long as that in the inside you know I'm right."

And, fuck it all, on the inside, I knew she was right.

* * *

**I'm off to work on yet another chapter, trying to squeeze in as much writing as I can between working, eating, sleeping and playing Rock Band 2 =)**

**Please leave a review, thanks!**

**--Brin--**


	7. Chapter 6, Halloween Night

**I got this chapter so fast! I'm so proud of myself! ^^ Now if only I could be sure that people are actually _reading_ this story, I'd be so much happier**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine, neither are any of the characters, nor are any of the components**

* * *

**Chapter Six, Halloween Night**

_**Edward**_

I was up in my room, trying to be invisible. I knew that Bella was helping Alice prepare the house: there was still an hour until the Halloween party started. Alice was mentally pestering me to come downstairs and help out, but I had no desire to see Bella.

At least not yet.

Oh of course I wanted to see Bella – everything about me burned to see Bella. I wondered deliciously what her costume was: all Alice would only leak to me was that it was red (as if that wasn't tempting enough). I lied in bed on my side, curled around a pillow, pretending it was Bella's soft body against mine. I wished I could bury my nose in her silk dark tresses.

But then, I didn't want to see Bella. Not when she was so greatly informed, and so determined to prove it to me. For the reminder of the week following our meeting in the forest, I had to duck and dodge her, while she watched me under narrowed and knowing eyes. _This isn't over Edward. Trust me on that. _I could tell that Bella was not going to give up on this until they spoke face to face and I admitted to her being right about being a vampire.

And while, I could see why it would make things easier – Bella knowing the truth, and I _admitting _the truth – I could also see why this would make things that much harder.

For one, her little friend, Jacob Black, was already on the watch of our relationship. If I decided to pursue something serious with Bella, I would have to also endure the constant extra surveillance from Black and his pack – something I didn't want to bring upon myself or my family. Certainly Rosalie wouldn't make that easy to deal with.

Secondly, Bella would probably think that my admitting the truth meant that they could have a real relationship together now – since everything was out in the open between them. But all that would do is bring the risk of something dangerous happening – something that would make Jacob Black's surveillance tactics all the more worth it. And I didn't want that for Bella, to accidentally change her. And I, again, didn't want that for my family – a mistake of mine result in warfare between us and the wolves.

But the scariest thought of all, the one that I thought of most above all others, was the one that plagued my mind thanks to Alice: the thought that Bella would, someday, come to want for me to change her. I could still clearly picture Alice's vision – Bella laughing with Emmett in our kitchen, blood red eyes dancing. True, Alice's vision could change instantly once a decision was made, but the fact that the possibility of Bella wanting to live a life like mine – if you could call what I do 'living' – was something that made me more conflicted above all things. I didn't want this life for Bella: I didn't want Bella to have to walk away from her family, her friends, her beautiful blushing red cheeks, and become a vampire.

And yet…another side of me, a small side that was starting to grow into a larger portion of me, wanted Bella for myself, and wanted to do whatever it took to make her just mine. If that meant taking her life…

_Don't go there Edward._

_Do. Not. Go there._

This was much too complicated to bear. I was wondering if Bella Swan was even worth all this mental battle. What had truly transpired between us so far? One unsuccessful date, a more successful date, a kiss, a confrontation, and then expert avoidance on my part. In essence: _nothing. _There was really _nothing _between Bella Swan and I, to merit all this confusion and inner turmoil.

And yet, here I laid – still thinking about that captivating brunette, acting like a punk and hiding in my room, when I really wanted to see her.

I heard Alice a moment before she knocked on the door: _I can't believe this idiot is really doing this._

"Go away," I said in response to her knock and her thoughts.

"The party is starting. People are arriving." _And Bella is here, _she added in thought.

"Tell her I'm sick," I murmured.

"Oh yeah, that will go over well. Telling Bella, that an invulnerable, impervious to everything vampire is sick. With what pray tell? The common cold?"

I sighed, and rolled out of bed, heading for the door. Opening it, I found Alice standing there wearing a strapless jumper, with the shorts stopping at her upper thigh, and a gold and black stripped design. She wore rounded wings and gold feelers. I raised an eyebrow.

"And you're a–?"

"Bumblebee, dumbass," Alice hissed. "Never mind that. What are you doing up here? Jasper looks funny wandering around dressed as you, and no one is dressed as him!"

I chuckled: Jasper and I did this every year for Halloween, dressed as each other. Long before this party idea came up, and only a little after Bella entered my life, we had lain out ensembles for each other to wear today. While the rest of our family thought it was fun to dress up in costumes for Halloween, he and I believed we lived the lives of a Halloween costume every day – save the extra dollar and just be each other.

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" I asked her, folding my arms.

"Of course not," Alice said, folding her arms as well. "I also wanted you to know that Bella is here, and looking for you. Although you already knew that."

"I didn't know she was looking for me," I replied, and a mix of elation and dread came over me.

"Well she is," Alice said. "And it's only so long you can hide up here. Because I'll send her up here to you."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because you're being a fuckwad," Alice said with an eye roll. "Bella doesn't care that we're vampires you know. She doesn't think less of you and I or any of our family members. In fact, she thinks–"

"You've said this all to me before," I replied, slightly irritated. "She thinks that this can bring us closer, blah, blah, blah."

"Well you should be happy!" Alice exclaimed in exasperation. "You had told me, the only reason you thought a relationship between you and her couldn't exist is _because_ you were a vampire. But now that she knows, and she's okay with it–"

"Does that solve the problem of me possibly attacking her?" I said in a raised voice.

"You wouldn't attack her," Alice said off-handedly

Why did everyone have this incredible faith in me? Clearly they just didn't understand what this girl's scent did to me, how it made venom pool faster in my mouth than anything else had, that it sharpened my reflexes and heightened the animal in me. On top of that, I struggled with a need to possess her sexually as well.

I certainly had no faith in myself: that was for sure.

"Edward, I know you," Alice said. "And I understand the struggle that you're going through right now. Really I know!" she added quickly when I gave her a look of disbelief. "Don't think that this whole family doesn't appreciate the fact that you're willing to put us before yourself, and therefore you don't want to get into a potentially damaging relationship with Bella."

Alice was only touching upon one aspect of this whole thing, but I let her continue. "Still, don't you think we want to see you happy as well Eddie? And Bella makes you happy. You care about her enough to defend her from Rosalie's scathing attacks. You certainly enjoyed your date with her last Saturday. And, well, you just seem so much happier as of late. Conflicted at times, yes, but also, happy."

I was surprised at that last part. Had I truly seemed happier recently? "That doesn't necessarily have to do with Bella," I said weakly.

"Right," Alice said, not believing me for a second. "My point is, I believe in you Edward. I know that you always make the right decision. And I guess if you're up here trying to decide what is the right decision, from what is wrong one, then maybe I'm wrong for coming up here all heated like this. Like I said before, I know this can't be easy for you." She took a deep breath. "But I guess I just don't want you to make the wrong decision. Because I really like Bella, and most of all, I like Bella for _you_. Okay?"

"Okay," I said earnestly. I loved Alice like my sister, and I could read it on her face that she was being real with me. She was just wanted the best for me, above all things. I couldn't hold that against her, even if she had a complicated way of going about things.

She took a deep breath, then smiled. In the next instant, she pressed a sticker to my shirt that said, 'Hello, My Name Is Jasper' on it. "Jazz wanted me to give that to you, just in case you decide to make an appearance, because he feels a little silly walking around with the 'Edward' sticker."

"Fair enough," I said with a smile. "I'll be down in a minute." I told her.

She smiled, and gave me a sisterly peck on my cheek, before bouncing away, not downstairs, but towards her and Jasper's room. Then I heard her angrily scolding people who were clearly about to start hooking up. _Oh Alice._

I idly ruffled my hair before leaving my bedroom, closing and locking the door behind me – so I wouldn't have to worry about people coming into my room to get busy with each other either.

The party was well under way when I got downstairs: the turnout was large with most of my grade present and a couple of underclassmen, mainly girls. These girls spotted me and batted eyelashes and giggled flirtatiously in my direction. I put on my best smile, but paid them no real mind.

The person I was looking for was easy enough to spot.

Bella Swan was dressed as Little Red Riding Hood. She was wearing a pair of red shorts and a black spaghetti-strap tank top, with the red hood and cape tied at her neck. She had the hood up, her dark hair cascading on either side of her face. She wore red gloves that climbed up her arm in a slimming way, stopping mid-forearm. I recognized the gloves as the very pair I had told Alice I liked when she asked me to help her decide from her foreign catalogs. Even though I had picked them with intentions for Alice, they looked amazing on Bella. In fact, Bella looked flat out gorgeous. The red complimented her flawless skin perfectly, and even the matching red high-top Converse sneakers made the whole ensemble perfect.

I swallowed hard, something I was used to doing when I saw Bella, then put on my best smile as I made my way towards her. She caught my eye a second before I could speak, and a lovely smile came on her face. There was already a ting of red on her cheeks. Why was she so fucking hot?

"Hi, Edward," she said warmly.

"Hello, Bella," I replied. My voice had deepened towards the sexual tones. I tried to remove it the second time I spoke – "How are you doing?" – but it failed miserably.

Bella didn't seem to notice, or if she did notice, she didn't seem to care. "I'm good," she said. "Everyone is staring at me," she added curiously.

I wasn't surprised by the comment, but a surge of angry jealously did come over me, and my eyes darted around the room to find any perpetrator – the last thing I wanted was guys checking out my Bella.

_Your Bella? Exaggeration, maybe?_

"It's because you look so nice," I said in a hard tone, more for myself and less for her. I hated that this girl made me vulnerable to emotions that I wasn't even used to feeling. "Red is a good color for you."

"Thanks," she said, her smile returning. Her eyes went over my body, and I went smug with her checking me out. "What are you supposed to be?" she asked me.

I pointed to the obvious sticker on my chest. "Jasper," I told her.

Her eyes narrowed on the sticker, then she started to laugh. Music to my ears. "I was wondering why Jasper was walking around in that long pea coat. And why it looked so familiar."

"Ha, ha," I said, rolling my eyes.

She smiled at me still, then took a step closer to me, her hands reaching for me. "Can we talk somewhere?" she asked me.

I frowned, unable to stop myself from doing so. "Really? So soon?"

"I told you that we were going to talk," she said, her voice surprisingly fierce all of a sudden.

"Yes, I know," I said. I gave her a disarmingly smile. "But we're at a party, and we haven't even danced together yet."

She blushed, her eyes falling away from mine. "Oh no, I don't dance. I don't know how."

"It wouldn't take much to show you," I whispered. Gently, I put my hands on her waist and pulled her closer to me. "It isn't much at all, dancing."

She glanced up at me. "Teach me to dance later," she said finally. "I want to talk to you first."

I growled inwardly in displeasure, but I kept a neutral expression. "Fine. Shall we return to the meadow?"

"You want to go all the way out there?"

"Well it's the only place I can't hear other people's thoughts, and I'd rather not be disturbed with everyone else."

"Other people's thoughts? What do you m–"

I didn't let her finish, because I dragged her expertly through the crowds and toward the fron door, and once we were outside I pulled her on my back and sped off into the forest at my fastest speed. Once I took off, I heard her squeal and wrap her arms around me tightly, burying her face in my neck. Even as I ran, I appreciated the feeling of Bella's nose against my flesh. We arrived at the meadow in under a minute.

The speed of my motions and blown off Bella's hood and her hair was now wild around her face. "I didn't know that super speed came along with being a vampire," she said, trying to smooth her somewhat puffy hair.

I paused, then sighed. "A lot of things come along with being a vampire," I muttered.

She turned on me quickly, her eyes widened with surprise. "You're admitting it? So easily?"

"Trust me, it's not so easily," I said in a grunt.

Immediately, Bella's face softened. She took a step closer to me, and to my own surprise, she put her arms around me, in what was probably supposed to be a hug. But my body was too hard to squeeze. Still, the gesture warmed me inside.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in a shiver. "I didn't mean to make things harder for you. I guess I really didn't understand how things have been for you. When you were avoiding me, I thought it was just because you didn't want to talk. Not that you weren't _ready _to talk."

It was almost impossible not to put my arms around her as well. But when I did, she shuddered so violently, that I let her go instantly. "Sorry," I said quickly. "I forgot–"

"No," she said softly, coming back to me. "I want you to hold me. It's okay. I can stand it."

I didn't want her to be cold – certainly not while she was wearing a next-to-nothing costume, but she put her arms back around me again, and again, I couldn't resist returning the gesture: I squeezed her as tightly as I could without hurting her, loving how soft she felt in my arms.

"Edward," she breathed out.

She turned her head towards mine, and smiled, "Even in the dark, your eyes are so bright. Like the sun."

And then she kissed me.

_**Bella**_

Kissing Edward is the most perfect experience one could have in life, and lucky for me, I could count this as my second time. And truly, second time's the charm, because I felt as if I was lying on a particularly soft cloud, while a soft wind carried me over the bluest of seas. I could list few things that could compare to kissing Edward, and those few things would still have to include Edward. And even then, I don't think it couldn't get better than this.

I don't know how I got to the ground, or when my hood came off, as I had been so caught up in kissing Edward, but I was now lying on my cape, with Edward lying partially on top of me (from the waist down, our bodies separated).

His kiss was so insistent, so soft despite the hardness of his body. I had long gone numb to his cold touch – now everywhere his hands met my flesh was a heated surprise for me. His fingers danced over my legs, gripping my thighs. Another hand seemed to be under my shirt, on my back – not going for my bra strap, but mainly just supporting me.

I wanted him to go for my bra strap. Suddenly I wanted those fingers on my thigh to slip beyond into my inner thighs. Suddenly, I knew of something that could be _that much more _perfect than just kissing Edward.

I pressed myself closer to him, feeling my nipples hardening against his chest. Was that because of the cold, or because I was becoming very turned on, I couldn't say for sure. But something told me it had to do more with the second thought. "Edward," I murmured against his lips.

"Hmm?" I murmured back, his mouth dropping to my neck.

When I felt his tongue brush against my jaw, my breath got caught in my throat, then came out in a soft moan. _Words Bella, use your words, _"Edward, I–" Words wouldn't come, I was back on that cloud again.

As his kiss traveled from my neck and jaw back to my mouth, I welcomed him invitingly, putting my hands on his shirt and pulling him closer to me. In my pull, his waist moved closer to mine, and I felt the throbbing by his zipper. It excited me beyond description. If I had had any ounce of good sense left in me, it flitted away to no-man's land. Now there was only one thing I desired.

Edward.

"Take my shirt off," I said breathlessly, my mind now focused on one thing.

He pulled away from me. Not far, but enough for me to see the haze in his golden eyes. "What?"

My hands were working on their own accord, slipping under Edward's shirt and dancing over his body. God, his abdomen was perfect – I could feel every cut and defined line that made up his six-pack. When my fingers trickled down to his sex lines, I could barely contain myself. I pushed myself against Edward, toppling him over so that now I was on top of him.

He seemed in mildly surprised by my actions, but I didn't give him any time to really consider it, as I plunged into another deep, passionate kiss. His hands found my waist easily, and he slightly lifted the hem of my shirt, so that his skin made contact with mine. I could still feel him throbbing, now pressed exactly against my heat. I grinded my hips into his, and Edward released a groan in my mouth.

"Fuck, Bella."

The words only egged me on further. I rotated my hips a second time, and then continually, stimulating the girth pressing against me. Even my own motions drove me crazy, brushing against my clit and pleasuring me beyond comparison. Edward's hands dropped to my hips, and now he controlled my movements, as he still kissed me hard. He flipped me back over so that I was on my back, but we stayed connected: my legs locked themselves around Edward's waist as he bucked against me. I gasped, shivered, arched my back, wanting more from him, needing more from him.

I whispered, "Edward."

But before he could reply, I heard a furious cry, and the words: "What the fuck is this!" uttered in the angriest of tones.

Edward reacted faster than I did, because suddenly was on my feet, standing behind him, while he crouched low, somewhat defensively in front of me. His eyes were focused on something approaching, and I soon recognized that something to be _someone._

Jacob.

"What the fuck is this?" He yelled. Then he turned angry dark eyes on Edward. "Bloodsucker you better explain all this shit before things get fucking ugly."

"Jake, I'm fine," I insisted. "Really."

"You better be fine, or else I'll–"

"She's fine, mutt," Edward growled out.

"What the fuck did you say, bloodsucker!"

"Guys, don't, really. Everything is fine."

"Everything is _not _fine Bells," Jake said. "Didn't you hear what I told you about this guy. About this bloodsucker and his family? What are you, trying to be their next course?"

"Edward isn't like that," I said indignantly. "He's sweet, and kind, and–"

"Ever thought that that was part of his plan? To lure you into this false sense of security only to feed you to the rest of his coven! That's what _his kind _is capable of."

"Don't you dare take about my family like that," Edward said dangerously. "Or you'll regret it, you fucking–"

"Edward!"

"Yeah, how about that you sick fucking–"

"Jacob, you shut up too!"

I stepped from behind Edward and stood between the two of them with my arms folded. I knew I couldn't have looked too intimidating, with my hair fluffed up and face flushed, but I didn't care. This tirade between them was starting to get ridiculous.

"Now, both of you better calm down and talk to each other like civilized people–"

"I don't have to talk to that fucking mutt in any kind of 'civilized' manner," Edward hissed in disgust. "Or did he not tell you that he's a fucking animal."

"Edward!" I spun around on him.

"No disrespect Bella," Edward said calmly. "I am a vampire, and Jacob is a werewolf."

My eyes widened in surprise, and I spun back to Jacob. He looked livid, but also afraid. I whispered, "A werewolf?"

"I'm not going to drink your blood like that fucking freak will!" Jacob said angrily, pointing a finger at Edward. "I would never hurt you, ever!"

"And you think I would hurt Bella?" Edward said, sounding horrified. "I would never lay a finger on her."

"You seem to have had many fingers on her just a while ago–"

"Jacob," I said, my face flushing. "That had nothing to do with attack, and everything to do with–"

I couldn't explain it, my momentarily lapse into this need for sexual release, but Edward, his voice now completely cool said, "You can smell the air and decide for yourself, Jacob Black, what that had everything to do with."

Jacob snarled, but said nothing. _The air? _I wondered if maybe there were things that only superhumans detect that I couldn't. The air smelled like pine to me, and that was about it.

"I refuse to let this continue," Jacob said in a low grumble.

"And what are you going to do, really." Edward said, now sounding amused. "I'd love to hear what your plan for dictating Bella's life entails."

I turned back fiercely at Jacob after hearing this. "Don't you dare Jacob Black. I do whatever I want, and I make my own damn choices."

"You clearly make some wrong ones," Jacob said, narrowing his eyes at Edward.

"It's none of your business whether they are the right or wrong decisions," I said with finality. "You shouldn't even be here. You shouldn't have even come. I'm so embarrassed, and humiliated by you right now."

Suddenly, there was a flicker of remorse in Jacob's eyes. "Bella–"

But I ignored the flicker: "I don't want to talk to you Jacob."

He looked back and forth between me and Edward, but finally turned away, caught between anger, frustration and confusion. I turned back to Edward, who was still watching the spot where Jacob stood. I could see the fury in his eyes, though his exterior had now retained a tranquility. Then suddenly, he turned to me.

"I should get you home," he said.

"Edward–" but he lifted a hand to silence me.

"We'll talk tomorrow. But for now, I should get you back home."

He picked up my cape off the ground, shook out the debris and wrapped it around me, I suddenly realized just how cold I was. But when Edward lifted me into his arms and held me close, I felt warmed immediately. I snuggled close to his chest as he took off, making it to my doorstep at lightning speed. But he took me to my bedroom windowsill as opposed to the front door.

"Get some rest," he told me. "You're tired."

I did feel tired suddenly, and had no strength to argue. Much. But I did strike up some rebuttal. "You'll come see me tomorrow. So we can finish talking?"

"I wouldn't say we did much talking just a while ago," Edward said suggestively, making me blush.

"Well I'm hoping we could do more of that too," I added shyly.

Edward smiled at me, touching my face gently, and pressing his lips on my forehead. "I'll come back Bella, I promise. At this point, I feel like as if I can't be away from you, even if I tried."

The words warmed my heart, but I only smiled in response. "Well then, good night."

"Sleep well, Bella Swan."

And then he was gone.

* * *

**I would greatly appreciate reviews! Just so I can know if this story is going along well with the public, since right now I can't really be sure.**

**Will try to update quickly again, but I can't make any promises.**

**--Brin--**


	8. Chapter 7, What Love Feels Like

**Really quickly, I want to thank abby85 for pointing out my pronoun confusion in previous chapters. I don't really have an editor behind me on this, so forgive me if I make a couple of mistakes. anyway, thank you abby85 because I didn't want to leave any of my readers confused. I went through the previous chapters and made som edits. Go back and reread if you wish, but I don't think its anything too serious.**

**Now that that's aside, anyone ready for some mature content? Cause that's exactly what I have for you below, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine, neither are any of the components, nor the characters**

* * *

**Chapter Seven, What Love Feels Like**

_**Bella**_

I was sitting up in my bed, legs bent with a book resting in my lap, when I heard the soft tap at my window. Excepting it to be a bird, or a branch brushing against the glass, I actually jumped when I saw Edward sitting on my windowsill, a casual smile on his face.

"Good morning, Bella," he said softly.

I wasn't able to reply right away. Almost instantly, I realized that I was lying in bed wearing an oversized white mariner with no bra and the shortest pair of shorts I owned, in the color of black. I wondered if Edward seemed to notice this just as quickly as I did, because his gorgeous golden eyes rolled over my frame, stopping suggestively at my bust. I glanced down, and realized that the curves of my breasts were showing out of the sides slightly.

I blushed. "I only just came out of the shower," I told him.

"I know," Edward said with a grin. "Alice gave me the heads up."

"Alice?"

"She can see into the future," he explained calmly as he stepped into my bedroom. He was dressed just as casually as I was, wearing a simple dark green t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. "Some vampires have special gifts, and that's hers."

I glanced down at the exposed part of his legs, observing the defined muscles of his calves. "I don't think I've ever seen you in shorts before," I said out loud absently.

He shrugged. "I dressed down," he said casually. "I knew you just came out of the shower, after all."

"What were you saying about special gifts?" I asked him, my mind refocusing, and I recalled Jacob saying that he speculated Alice having the gift of foresight.

"Some vampires have special gifts," he repeated. "What I was saying about Alice is that she can see into the future. Well, she can see visions of the future, but the future's always changing. But her visions do come in handy."

Bravely, I asked, "Did she ever see something about you and I?"

Edward gave me a sly smile. "Actually, she did."

I blushed, gathering my knees in my arms, and holding them close to me. I liked the idea of Alice seeing into the future, and seeing me with Edward. I wondered what kind of things she saw; good things maybe?

"Do you have a special gift?" I asked Edward.

"Yes," he said. "I can read people's thoughts."

I recalled him saying that from the night before, somewhere between us going towards the meadow and collapsing together in a fit of passion. Now, with my mind cleared – somewhat – of said passion, I was now able to fully grasp the seriousness of what Edward was saying.

_Read thoughts!_

_Can he read mine? Has he been reading mine all this time?_

I could only imagine the various things I've thought while walking passed Edward Cullen over the months since I had first seen him. I could only imagine the things he must have heard from me as of late! Instantly I was transported back to the time when I had touched myself while Edward had been downstairs. Had he seen all of that in my mind as well?!

"Relax," Edward said, and I wondered if he had read my mind battling over him being able to read my mind. But then he said, "For whatever reason, I can't read your mind. Not sure why, but I've never been able to. You're the only one I've ever encountered whose mind I couldn't dip into."

I was surprised, yet very relieved. I wanted to keep my thoughts to myself, especially the ones that had to do with the very sexy Edward Cullen in front of me.

Although, Edward knowing my thoughts would have made it so much easier for him to realize what I had wanted from him in the meadow the night before. Before Jacob came and ruined everything. I know that if Jacob hadn't showed up, I certainly wouldn't have known how to vocalize to Edward that I wanted him to…

…fuck me.

"You know, most times I can read what you're thinking by your facial expression, so I don't need to read your mind" Edward was saying. "But I will admit, right now I haven't gotten the slightest clue what you could be thinking." I turned beet red at this point, which made Edward chuckle, "I'm guessing it has something to do with me though. I've learned that much from your blushing face."

I scoffed at his accuracy. "I don't _always _blush because of _you._"

"Maybe not always, but most of the time," he said with a grin.

I tried to steer the conversation in another direction: "Is it common for vampires to get a special gift?"

He seemed thoughtful for a moment, then said, "Well I think all vampires have something special, even if it's not something as obvious as mind-reading or seeing the future. For example, Esme has the greatest maternal instinct; so great that borders on unnatural for our kind. And Carlisle has the strongest control over his reactions to open blood, which is why he can be a doctor for humans." Edward stopped momentarily. "But I guess I would say it's more or less common, having a gift. Three in five vampires maybe? Jasper has one too, he can monitor, alter, impose and control emotion."

"That would be three in six in your family's case then," I said cleverly.

Edward smiled at me, warmly, and I felt myself melting. "Right you are."

I noticed at this point that Edward was just standing in my room. There was my desk chair that he could sit on, or my bed. I hoped for the latter, but then realized that Edward could not read my mind and tell so. So in my bravest whisper, I asked, "Do you want to sit down?"

He scrutinized me for a moment, then turned towards my desk chair. I gasped, "Not there!"

He looked back at me, his eyebrow raised. "This is the chair," he said in an obvious tone.

I could feel my face burning as the blood rushed to my cheeks, but still I said: "You can sit on my bed." Then I added, "To be more comfortable."

Edward ran a hand over his ruffled bronze hair. "You sure?"

I pulled my legs even closer to advertise more space on my bed. Edward seemed hesitant as he came towards me, but at least he was coming. Every step he took made my heart flutter wildly, and by the time he actually sat on my bed, inside I was going crazy.

Edward, in my bedroom, on my bed.

And it was Sunday morning: Charlie was off fishing somewhere like he usually did.

Edward, in my bedroom, on my bed, in my empty house.

"Thanks for coming," I murmured, fiddling with my drying hair to cool my nerves.

"I said I would," Edward told me. "Did you think I wouldn't come?"

I shrugged with uncertainty. "I can't ever tell with you. I mean, two weeks ago you wanted nothing to do with me. And then last night, we…" my voice trailed off, as I felt my cheeks burning again.

Edward smiled in a way that comforted me. "I didn't mean to be so dual personality with you. Forgive me, but I've never felt this way about anyone before, human or otherwise. I'm learning slowly how to handle this situation, and I admit, I made a couple of mistakes in doing so."

I was still stuck on 'never felt this way about anyone before'. My mind flashbacked on my dream, and Edward telling me that he loved me. 'Never felt this way about anyone before' was pretty close to 'I love you', wasn't it?

I smiled with joy that my thoughts brought me. "What?" Edward asked me curiously. "What are you thinking?"

I looked him playfully. "Wouldn't you like to know?" I said teasingly.

He frowned, but not in a serious way. "That's not fair."

"Reading people's minds definitely isn't fair to that person's mind. No one else can read people's mind. I hear unfair advantage." I folded my arms. "With me, you'll learn how to play fair."

"Or I could just tickle it out of you or something."

He had said it so casually, that I hadn't been expecting him to be serious. But in the next instant, I found myself beneath Edward while his fingers danced along my sides. And I was _incredibly _ticklish, so I writhed and giggled at his every touch. He was laughing too, while still trying to ask me what I had been thinking.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you!" I cried out in defeat.

Edward stopped tickling me, but he didn't move away. Our bodies were just as close as they had been the night before, and he looked at me intensely, amber eyes smoldering. For a moment, I was caught up in his gaze, and forgot whatever I was supposed to be telling him.

I think Edward might have forgotten too, because his eyes flickered down to my mouth, then met my eyes again. He inched closer, and I moved to meet him. Our lips touched, softly but surely. Edward's hand found the back of my head as he urged me even closer, deepening our kiss.

Even though I still felt the same fire from last night, none of those hurried actions were present here. Edward moved slowly and with certainty. His free hand travelled down the side of my body, over my hips and down my thighs. Grabbing it firmly, he moved my leg over so that he could shift on top of me. All of this, and he never broke our passionate kiss.

My arms had been around his neck, but they slipped away, and my hands went down to the hem of his shirt. Tentatively, I started pulling the shirt up. I had expected resistance from his part, but Edward moved away, breaking our kiss temporarily, so I could remove the shirt completely.

My heart was beating wildly, I could barely hear my breathing. Edward looked at me with more intensity than ever before, his eyes blazing. I tried to steady myself, but my hands were shaking as I went for the hem of my own top, and slowly began pulling that off as well.

Edward kept his eyes on my face the whole time, even as I now lay beneath him with my entire upper body exposed. But the hand that was on my thigh, had moved up my stomach, fingers walking up my skin towards my breast. His cool touch made me shiver as he cupped my right breast softly. At that exact moment, he tucked his head into the crook of my neck, and I felt his tongue dancing against my flesh, while his hand massaged my breast gently.

My back arched, and I heard a moan leave my throat. My body rippled with lovely sensations, as Edward continued to pleasure me. His touch was soft, but so powerful regardless. I felt completely breathless when his kiss moved away from my neck and went to my other breast, his lips closing around my nipple. He suckled me tenderly, and I ran my fingers through his hair, grabbing fistfuls from the waves of pleasure I was getting.

"Edward," I breathed.

Edward kissed his way back to my mouth, then murmured, "Yes Bella?"

I whispered, "My dad isn't home."

He let out a low chuckle, and I felt him smiling against my chin. "I figured as much."

My breathing was getting heavy, and I took his hands – both were now working my breasts as he loved my jaw with his mouth – and moved them down to my elastic band of my shorts. Once I felt him hold onto it, I began to pull them down, watching myself as I did so. Now I lay in just my pink panties. When I finally braved a glance up at Edward, his eyes were like a golden fire.

I tried to speak, "I want–"

"I know what you want," Edward said with a smile.

He kissed my forehead, my cheek, and then kissed a path down my stomach to my belly button. His hands had found the band of my underwear without my help this time, and he pulled that down as well, slowly. As they came down passed my knees, I watched Edward moved down passed my belly button.

My heartbeat was crazy at what I knew had to be coming next.

He nudged my legs apart easily, and then I felt his tongue against my heat. I squealed at the touch, and tried to inch away to recover from the sensation, but instead, Edward held my waist firmly as he delved further with his tongue. I squirmed and writhed with pleasure as Edward's tongue worked against my flesh. He dipped and darted in and out of my folds, and danced over my clit, driving me up the wall. I found myself crying out in passion, grabbing fistfuls of sheet and moving myself against his touch. My bottom lip quivered, and my body trembled with an oncoming orgasm. Edward stayed against me, tongue everywhere, and then he dropped one of his hands to my center, dipping two fingers inside me.

_OhgodOhgodOhgodOhgod._

My back arched and I bit my bottom lip hard, shivering and shaking with ecstasy. Edward's fingers pushed in and out of me, as his tongue continued to flick over me, and I felt as if I was about to explode…

…and I did: loudly, violently, and it left my body shaking.

I felt Edward kissing my inner thigh, softly, tenderly. I tried to steady my breathing, but I was just still so wrapped up in post-orgasm. I was back on that cloud, expect this time the sun was beaming down on me, and I was warmed all over. When I felt Edward's lips on mine, I almost didn't have the energy to kiss him back. But I received a surge from deep within, just strong enough for me to return the gesture.

"Felt good?" he asked me in a whisper.

Did he have to ask? Didn't he see me quivering with extreme delight? Couldn't he tell that he had pleasured my body in ways I didn't even know possible?

"Yes," I managed finally.

He kissed my forehead. "Good."

_**Edward**_

I felt incredibly successful, like a king. I knew I had made Bella feel wonderful, and just hearing her say it out loud made it that much better. She was looking up at me with a glazed over expression, and her breathing was still unsteady. I ran a hand through her silk dark mane, and nuzzled my nose in it. It was better than I imagined – the softness, and the sweet smell of lavender filling my nose.

Bella moved closer to me, her nose against my chest. I put my arms around her, burying my nose even deeper into her sweet scent.

She was moving her legs to turn closer to me, when I felt her thigh brush against me. Or more importantly, her thigh brushed against my pulsating erection. My eyes closed automatically and I let out a soft groan, that didn't go unnoticed by Bella.

Two seconds ago she looked ready to drift off into post-orgasmic sleep, but now she was alert all over again.

"Edward," she said softly.

"Don't worry about it," I told her quickly. "It's nothing."

I couldn't read her mind, but I didn't need a mind-reader to know what she wanted now. While it had been a pleasure to go down on Bella – she tasted amazing, and better than anything I could have dreamed up – I had also done it in hopes to distract her from what she really wanted.

And from what I wanted myself.

"Edward," she said, more insistently. "Edward, I–"

"Bella, please, don't worry about it."

"But it's okay," she said quickly. "I want to."

And fuck, I _really _wanted to as well. In fact, I had thought about this so much that I spent the whole night last night with a hand on my rod and my mind on Bella. Then this morning, when Alice told me Bella was in the shower, my imagination left needed to clutch myself yet again. And I knew, none of the masturbation and imagination would compare to the real thing. Bella's body was more flawless than I had imagined – a perfect swell of her breast in a supple size, a flat stomach and soft, touchable legs. And when I had had my fingers inside her, I was treated to a delicious incomparable warmth.

But to actually carry out the deed – I couldn't trust myself to do all of that. I didn't know what would happen once I allowed myself to get completely engrossed in everything she had to offer. How would the animal in me respond?

Possibly not well.

Bella reached up to kiss me, and I couldn't deny her, but when I felt her hands go down to my jeans zipper, I had to turn away. "Bella, don't."

"But I want to Edward," she said quietly. She undid my button, and I wanted to stop her, but couldn't. "It can be risky, and I know that, but I also know you won't hurt me."

As she pulled down my zipper, her fingers grazed over my throbbing member. I inhaled deeply, biting my bottom lip. "You know I won't?" I echoed gruffly out of the corner of my mouth.

"Yes," she said, but her voice quavered.

"You're afraid," I stated. I had heard it in her voice.

"Well," Bella cleared her throat, and when I glanced down at her face, it was red as a fire hydrant. "You're huge," she stated simply.

I had to chuckle at that. "Does _that _come with being a vampire too?" she asked me.

"Maybe I'm just well endowed," I said casually.

"If that's what you want to call it." Her eyes fluttered shyly back up to meet mine, and she kissed me lightly on the mouth. "I'm not afraid," she told me, and now her voice sounded sure. "Maybe intimidated. But not afraid."

"Why aren't you afraid?" I asked her softly.

"Because I trust you," she said in a voice just as soft.

The words had such a soothing effect over me, that I smiled at her. In the next instant, we were kissing again: soft, deep, passionate kisses that I could feel in every inch of me. Even though my rod was free, my jeans were still on, so I removed them from my body. But not without taking my wallet out of my back pocket.

I parted from Bella just long enough to rifle through the wallet and pull out a condom. I didn't think my seed contained anything that could induce pregnancy, but I wanted to be safe than sorry. And I wanted Bella to trust me, and I knew that condoms were a big sign of trust. _Good thing Emmett gave this to me, even if it was just as a joke._

I opened the condom wrapper and rolled the rubber on slowly. Bella watched me anxiously, and I could feel hear her heart beating wildly. I positioned myself back on top of her, meeting her intense gaze head on. Her chocolate eyes were blazing, and while I could feel some fear in her, it was overpowered by trust, need, and desire.

The very same things I felt towards her as well.

"Trust me?" I found myself asking, in a thick, hoarse voice. I was positioned right by her entrance, ready to enter, but not without absolute consent.

"Yes," she said with certainty. "I trust you always Edward."

I kissed her gently, tongue meeting hers easily. She moaned in my mouth as I pushed myself inside her. God, she was tight and moist. And so fucking warm: I felt my eyes roll back behind my closed lids. I just held myself inside her at first, simply enjoying the feel of her encasing my shaft. Bella squirmed beneath me, moving herself slowly against my rod, whimpering sweetly as she did so.

I indulged in her motions, with slow, fluid strokes. I placed my hands on both sides of her head, holding onto the pillow for balanced as I moved in and out of her. Bella's face was scrunched with pleasure, and she moaned softly. I loved the sound of my name as it left her lips in an erotic whisper. Her hands went to my shoulders, and she dug her fingers into my body. It didn't hurt – on a regular basis, it probably wouldn't have registered to me at all – but it made me growl in appreciation. I could feel the need to ravish her trying to come over me, but I resisted it the best I could.

Still, I didn't know how much longer I could resist. Bella felt too fucking good: the snugness of her fit, the warmth of her body, the moistness of her cave. Even the rise and fall of her breasts as she lost control of her breath drove me crazy. She was moaning loudly, like she had done before, and I could feel her body starting to quiver again. She was close, clenching around me without knowing. The clenching tightened her fit further, making me growl aloud – "Jesus, Bella." – just as she came to her first climax.

I wanted her to have another, and increased my pace, only by a bit, one I could still control. She reacted instantly to my increase, moving her hips in a way to meet my strokes. It heightened the already incredible sensations I was getting from her. I bit my bottom lip, and continued to rock into her, and soon felt my own body shaking. Bella kept moving against me, her eyelids fluttering wildly as she cried out repeatedly in ecstasy, singing an erotic song with my name in the chorus. It pushed me forward, heightened my desire to please her. But even as I worked to please her, I felt myself coming to my own climax.

Then I felt the clenching, and I found myself stuttering out Bella's name. Bella's grip on my shoulders tightened, which illicit another groan from my throat. I thrust into her deeper, harder, longer, bringing us both to our brinks. I felt her climax again just before a growl of satisfaction left me and I felt seed bursting free from me.

Bella was panting, and it was adorable. Though I was more than satisfied, I wasn't exhausted – vampire perks I suppose. So I watched Bella, her skin glistening with sweat droplets, the heavy rise and fall of her supple breast, her parted soft lips as she tried to regulate her breathing.

Slowly, I pulled myself from her – regrettably, because I thoroughly enjoyed the warmth she gave – and laid my back. I was certain that if I was still human, I would be just as out of breath as Bella was, and in desperate need of a nap or a cigarette. Even so, I still felt gratified beyond belief – better than I could have dreamt up, sweeter than anything I had ever felt. Maybe even better than quenching thirst.

Bella's breath had finally calmed, and I heard her whisper, "Felt good?"

I smiled, turning to face her. She had already turned herself to face me. "It felt perfect," I told her.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Bella said, mirroring my smile. She moved closer to me, until our noses were touching. The gesture was so sweet, so intimate, that I felt my smile growing further. "Thank you," she said.

"For what?" I whispered.

"For this," she said. "For everything. For giving me this chance."

I placed my hand on the side of her face, gently stroking her cheek. "Thank you," I said. "For not giving up on this chance."

_**Bella**_

It was Wednesday afternoon, and still felt somewhat sore from the weekend, but I kept my walk as natural as possible. I approached Alice, who was sitting at the Cullens usual lunch table, as coolly as I could and asked, "Will you come with me after school, to Walgreens?"

"Sure," she said. "Anything wrong?"

"No, I just need to pick up some stuff, and I don't want to go by myself," I said shyly.

"Well, sure I'll come with you," she said with a smile.

"Great."

I turned around, and jumped back instantaneously – Edward was standing right there, an amused smirk on his face. "What's at Walgreens?" he asked me curiously.

I blushed, and glanced away from him. "Just stuff."

"Aw." He touched my hair softly, curling a few strands around his pointer finger. "You can't even tell me?"

"You'll find out," I said teasingly, pulling his finger from my hair.

His smirk became a full smile, just before he placed a light kiss on my lips. Then he turned to Alice, and narrowed his eyes. "Don't you say anything."

"Oh brother dear," Alice said smugly, her expression matching her tone. "I don't _need _to say anything. You and I both know that."

Edward rolled his eyes, and I looked between him and Alice. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Oh nothing," Alice said casually. "I'll see you after school, right?"

"Right," I said.

"Lunch off campus?" Edward asked me.

"Sure," I said softly.

He took my hand firmly – I hardly shivered from the cold – and led us out of the cafeteria. Everyone who was already sitting down looked at us blatantly, expression ranging from curiosity, to surprise, to straight shock and awe. None of the looks fazed me: all that mattered was Edward and I.

Once we were in the hallway, he turned around and took me playfully by the waist, pulling me close. "I'm hurt that you're taking Alice to Walgreens, and won't take me," he said in a mock sad voice. "And then you won't even tell me what it's all for."

"I said you'll see," I told him.

"You sure there's no way I can wriggle it out of you?"

I smiled, titling my head closer to his. "Well I sure wouldn't mind it if you tried," I said softly.

"Meadow?" he said in a gravelly tone.

"Meadow," I said with a grin. "But feed me first, won't you?"

He chuckled. "Can do."

*

Alice and I walked down the aisles of Walgreens, while I examined all the shelves. Alice followed behind me quietly, but the smirk on her face showed that she definitely knew what I was looking for. I was happy that she wasn't saying anything about it, because I wasn't completely comfortable about vocalizing the whole thing just yet. But when we finally approached the correct section, I found myself uncertain.

Finally, I turned to silent Alice. She now had her nose buried in a magazine, but looked up and took in her surroundings at where we had stopped. I glanced to our my right, and she went, "Oh, figures. You both have been glowing like crazy."

I blushed furiously. "There's a problem."

Suddenly she seemed worried. "Was there an accident?" she asked me.

"No!" I said quickly. "No, no, I just…" I paused. "Well, I don't know much about…" I stopped again. "Don't laugh, but I just can't tell which are the right ones to buy."

"You could have let Edward buy them," Alice said casually.

"I know," I said with a shrug. "But I always told myself, once I started–" another pause "–you know–" pause "–I would keep my own pack, just to be responsible."

"Make sense, very responsible," Alice said with a nod. Then a flicker of understanding appeared in her eyes. "Hang on, Eddie was your first?" she asked.

I blushed a deeper red. "Yeah."

"Wow," Alice said. "Huh, does he know that?"

"Well I didn't say it out loud. But maybe, he could tell?"

Alice snorted. "I doubt Eddie knew more about sex than you did at that moment."

"Are you trying to say that he–?"

"Well maybe he wasn't a _virgin_ – it is possible that he had done it before he changed. But that was over a hundred years ago, and I promise, he hasn't done anything of the sort since then. And like I said, it's only possible that something happened before his changing."

"Right," I said quietly. "Well," I looked up at the row. "Do you know which one of these has condoms in a gold wrapper?"

Alice laughed, only once, but quite loud. "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie," she said, shaking her head. Then she reached for a small black box. She handed them to me. "Magnums," Alice said casually, "is what you're looking for."

I blushed. I might not have known the box, but I certainly knew the story behind 'Magnums'. _It's fitting, _I thought. _Edward took big to a new level. I can't even recall if this condom rolled all the way down! _"Thanks," I said.

"You know," Alice said. "I'll buy them for you, if you don't want to face down the cashier."

I smiled brightly. "Thanks, but I do have to get used to this, don't I? I just wasn't sure I'd know which was which."

"And you just assumed _I _would know?" Alice said, pretending to be offended. "You know, vampires don't usually use condoms. Bodies frozen in time means no pregnancy threat. And impervious to all means no STDs."

"And yet, you still knew which was which," I said with a knowing smirk.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Be quiet Bella."

* * *

**I saw the sixth Harry Potter movie over the weekend... it was alright, not much action but very funny though =)**

**Really busy this week with work, so I will try my best to update soon. I'll be working hard in all my spare time.**

**I hope you liked this, and it made for good readings. Review please! I would love that very much!**

**--Brin--**


	9. Chapter 8, Anger From The Other Side

**I am so proud of myself right now:: I am churning out these chapters like butter. I'm getting back into my mode of updating quickly!**

**Although, I think the only reason I got the chance to get this chapter done so quickly, is because I didn't have work yesterday. But I have work today (I'm actaully posting this right before I leave for work) so I don't know what time I'll have to write some more. But I will write quickly and efficiently as I can!!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine, none of the characters, nor any of the components**

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**Chapter Eight, Anger From The Other Side**

_**Bella**_

Two months can fly by fast when you're in a state of perpetual happiness. And that's what I was – perpetually happy. All thanks to Edward Cullen. The more time we spent together, the happier I got. We spent a majority of our time together in the meadow – the one place where Edward wasn't bothered with other people's thoughts, and spent most of the time trying to pick at mine. But we also stayed at his house a good number of times. Rosalie still didn't like me much, but she didn't vocalize it – giving only dirty looks to show her deep displeasure with Edward and me's relationship. But that was a step up from being plain insulted, so I appreciated her silence, and the rest of the Cullen was more than friendly with me, so it was easy to forget that she was looming in the background.

Esme was wonderful – sweet, kind and very motherly, just as Edward had said – and had made it a point to keep food in the house in case I visited, and was quick to whip something up in an instant. Carlisle, though very busy at the hospital where he worked, was always a calming presence when he stepped into the room, and engaged me in thoughtful and stimulating conversations and debates, ones I started to look forward to once I had enough knowledge for ammo to back my points up. Emmett was all fun and games – cards, board games, and even once, an intense game of hide-and-seek. I thought fondly of that particular game, because while Esme looked around for all of us, Edward and I hid together in a closet and promptly got involved with other activities that had nothing to do with hide-and-seek.

And Jasper…well, he was the quietest of them all, following Rosalie of course, who simply refuse to speak to me. But I didn't think he did it out of dislike for me. When he was up for conversation and games, he was just as fun as everyone else, but most times, he was doing his own thing in his room.

"He doesn't mean to be antisocial," Edward told me in confidence. "He's just trying to adjust to having your presence around. I'm not the only one who thinks your scent is tempting. And he's messed up before…"

I nodded understandingly. Alice ended up telling me the same thing a couple days later, when Jasper had declined to coming to the movies with the rest of us. "He'll warm up to you soon enough though," Alice said with a knowing smile. "Just give him time."

And he did: by the time the first snow came in early December, Jasper was out with the rest of us during one of our many snowball fights.

Everything was just going so well. I did have a few sad days, mainly because of Jacob - since our fight the night of Halloween, I hadn't heard from him, and he wouldn't return any of my calls. But now, it was winter vacation, which only meant more time to spend with my favorite person and his wonderful family.

But of course, with more time dedicated to my favorite person.

It was Sunday morning, and I was waiting for Edward in an oversize black v-neck shirt and no bottoms. Underneath, I was wearing a new set of red lacy panties and a matching bra – courtesy of Alice's foreign catalogs. And this time, I paid for this particular set, despite Alice's need to buy me thousands and thousands of things.

Sunday mornings had become a regular thing for Edward and I. It was the one time of day we both knew we could always have to ourselves, since Charlie went out in the mornings. And since our first time together two months ago, I could always count on Edward to come to my bedroom every Sunday at this time. Each time didn't necessarily mean there was a sexual encounter – though if I could have it my way, there would be – but there had been some wonderful Sundays that were clothing optional. And even though I hoped for today to be one of those Sundays, it was still wonderful to have a couple of hours with Edward to myself.

As I laid in bed, absently flipping through a magazine while I waited, I heard a knock on the front door. Which was odd, because Edward never bothered with the front door and came only to my window.

_Maybe Charlie is still here, and he's trying to be polite?_

One thing with him was whenever Charlie was here, he acted the role of 'good boyfriend' and came to the front door whenever he came to get me, and endured a few minute of interrogation from Charlie, before promising to have in me back home at whatever hour Charlie posed for that particular night. Even if Edward ended up sneaking into my room only a few minutes later after having me home, where Charlie was concerned, Edward wanted him to have the trust that most father's lacked for their daughter's boyfriend.

I smiled to myself: _Edward Cullen is my boyfriend._

I could hardly believe it when the words left Edward's lips – "Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend, Bella Swan?" – but I know I said 'yes' repeatedly to ensure that he got my point. And two perfect months later…

The knock came again, taking me from my mental journey. I got out of bed and went downstairs. The shirt was long enough to cover my underwear – and possibly a pair of short shorts, had I been wearing any – so I wasn't worried if it turned out to be someone besides Edward.

And it was – when I opened the door, Jacob was standing there.

And he didn't look happy to see me.

I, on the other hand, was ecstatic. I basically missed his sour expression as I threw my arms around him and pulled him in for a close hug. I hadn't seen Jacob since our disagreement in the forest, and seeing him now made me realize just how much I had missed him. I had tried calling him – to apologize, to talk, to hear his voice – but I never heard a word from him. Edward, at one point, told me to forget about him. But he was one of my closest friends after all: I couldn't forget about him just like that.

"Jake, wow," I gushed. "I can't believe you're here. I haven't heard from you in forever. Whenever I called, you never picked up. I thought you were ignoring me."

"I was," he said simply, stepping out of my hug.

Ouch."But you aren't anymore?" I asked tentatively.

"I realized that ignoring you wasn't the most mature route I could take to handle this situation," he replied. His dark eyes took in my attire, and then he said in a tight voice, "I'm guessing you weren't expecting any company today?"

I begun with, "Well I was…" but the stopped immediately, realizing that Jacob did not want to hear about my planned intimacies with Edward. He rose an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue the sentence, but I just shook my head, feeling color coming to my cheeks.

He cleared his throat. "Can I come inside?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," I said quickly, stepping aside to let him in.

He walked slowly, and I closed the door behind him. But he had only taken two or three steps inside, then turned around to face me again. We stood awkwardly like that for what felt like an eternity. There was so much I had wanted to say to Jacob in the weeks of our silence, but now that he was actually in front of me, I found myself tongue-tied. Jacob looked just as nervous and uncomfortable as I felt, but he ended up speaking first.

"I'm sorry," he started. "For what I said that night. I let my anger get the best of me, and I shouldn't have done that." He stopped, his dark eyes finding a spot on the floor. "I'm also sorry," he added in a whisper, "for not telling you the truth. About who I really am."

I was confused at that for a moment, but then I recalled Edward's voice clearly: _Jacob is a werewolf._

"It's okay," I said honestly. "I suppose it's not an easy thing to tell anyone."

"But I shouldn't have kept that from _you,_" he said, his eyes finding mine and his expression earnest. "I should have known that you would have understood, and wouldn't have judged me. You're just so nice to everyone Bella. Even to the bloodsucker's family–"

"Don't start with that Jacob," I said dangerously.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I just wanted to apologize for not telling you sooner, and for the way you had to hear the truth."

I nodded, calmed by his quick switch back to the more important topic. "It's fine. I had had an idea of everything from before. I did research on the Quileute, and got a good idea of everything even before that night."

Jacob cracked a smile. "Bella, researching, why am I not surprised?"

I smiled back. "Well you know me: Google is my best friend."

"I thought I was your best friend?" Jacob whined playfully.

"You can come after Google," I teased back.

Jacob laughed so easily, that I found myself joining in. When we finally settled down, I offered him a drink, momentarily forgetting that I had been expecting Edward. We sat down in the living room with our drinks, and shared a few more moments of playful banter.

Then Jacob set his glass down on the coffee table in front of him, "Apologizing wasn't the only reason I came over, Bells," he said in a serious tone.

I was lying back on the recliner to the left of Jacob, who was on the sofa, but I sat up at the shift in his tone of voice. He gave me a serious but apprehensive look, as if he knew what he wanted to talk about, but was afraid to do so.

Which instantly led me to what he was trying to say.

"I'm fine," I said quickly.

"You're fine right now," Jacob said. "But who knows when that guy could snap–"

"Edward is not going to 'snap'," I said in a sure voice. "He cares about me."

"But you're spending time at their house, with all those other blo–" he stopped himself quickly, "–_ones_, and you don't know what they're capable of."

"Of course I do," I said. "They don't drink human blood. We've been over this before. You don't have anything to worry about."

"I have _everything _to worry about," Jacob insisted. "One of theirs in the coven, the last time they were here, killed people. Thankfully it wasn't anyone close to me or my family, but a life is a life. This time around, it _is _someone close to me, and someone I care about – you. I'm not about to let the same thing happen again."

My mind flashed to Jasper, and why he was avoiding me so heavily. Was this why? Then I shook it off – Jasper wasn't avoiding me anymore. And Edward never brought me around unless every family member's eyes were a shimmering gold. "You're overreacting," I said. "That was a long time ago, and it's not like that anymore."

"You weren't here Bella."

"Well you couldn't have been much older than five or six when they were here last anyway," I said snappishly.

Jacob was quiet, conceding to my point. But then he said, "You never forget. And I'm the Alpha around here now, so the responsibility is on me."

"Alpha?"

Jacob blushed slightly. "It's just the term we use for leader. It's what my pack members call me." The he shook his head. "That's another story."

"Well why don't we talk about that instead?" I said, in part curious about Jacob's story. The online information said they weren't quite werewolves, because they could shift to their wolf forms at any given time, as opposed to only when there was a full moon. But another part of me just wanted to get off the topic of the Cullens.

"It's for another day," Jacob said, sticking to his current point. "I know I can't dictate what you do Bella – you made that blatantly clear before. But I can't sit around quietly while you continuously put yourself at risk. You can understand that, can't you?"

"I could, if I was actually at risk."

"You aren't thinking clearly!" he roared. "You have no idea what 'Edward' is capable of." He said his name in a sneer. "He could easily restrain you, and drain you dry, then dispose of what's left of you any-old-where. Do you want that for yourself?"

"Edward would never do that."

"Your blind trust is starting to irk me Bella."

"First off, it isn't blind trust," I said sternly. "I have been with Edward, even when he hasn't fed yet, and nothing has happened to me. So I know for a fact, that he would never attack me. Second of all," and I knew it would hurt Jacob for me to say this, but I had to make my point, "you are just as capable of hurting me as he is. Why shouldn't I be afraid of you?"

Jacob looked horrified. "Because I would never, _ever _hurt you, Bells."

"But Edward would, is that right?"

Jacob looked caught, an expression of frustration on his face. "It's different," he said quietly.

"How so?"

"Because I don't drink blood to survive for god's sake!"

Suddenly I thought about Emily Young. She was one of Sam Uley's – Jacob's friend – girlfriend. And she had the most violent slashes on her face.

"Sam Uley is a werewolf too, isn't he?" I asked Jacob suddenly.

Jacob looked surprised at my question, but then drew connections quickly. "Sam did that by mistake," he said quickly as an explanation. "He loves Emily. That was an accident."

"Who's to say you wouldn't have an 'accident' next to me as well?" I countered.

Jacob growled. "I would _never _hurt you!" he roared at me.

There was another knock at my door, and Jacob's growling increased. As I got up to get the door, Jacob followed behind me, his anger rising.

Edward was standing there, his eyes just as dark as Jacob's. He wasn't looking at me, his eyes narrowed and focused on Jacob. Easily, without taking his eyes away from him, Edward stepped inside, closed the door and came between Jacob and I, in an almost protective way.

"You need to control that temper of yours," he seethed.

"You need to get the fuck out of my face," Jacob growled back.

"I've never had a problem with you before," Edward said quietly, but fury was laced in his tone, "so I don't want there to have to be one now. So why don't you leave quietly like the little puppy dog you are."

"Edward!" I exclaimed. "Don't say that about–"

"No one asked you to come here, you fucking bloodsucker," Jacob replied. "So why don't you get the fuck out of here?"

"Jacob, you–"

"You expect me to leave Bella here, while you go into this uncontrollable rage? Who knows what you'll be capable of?"

"I would never hurt Bella!" Jacob howled. "It's not like I'm the one clearly in need for a drink of blood right now!"

"That's enough!" I yelled. I could see an angry vein throbbing in Jacob's neck, and Edward was clenching his fist so tightly that I was certain he was going to throw a punch any minute now. "I don't understand why you both have to behave this way."

"Sorry that I can't love this bloodsucker like you do," Jacob said. He turned to me with a hard expression and said, "I guess there is no getting through to you, and there will never be any getting through to you. You're just choosing him over me."

"What?" I said quickly, but Jacob was already heading out the door. I ran after him. "Jake, what are you talking about?"

Jacob spun around quickly and grabbed me roughly by the shoulders, pulling me closer to him. "You better be careful, mutt," I heard Edward say warningly.

Jacob glanced up behind me momentarily, before looking down at my face again. "You just don't get it do you," he said to me quietly. "You just don't understand. I would never hurt you. You would never have to worry about me harming you in any way. Every moment you spend with that guy could be your last one alive."

"I told you–"

"–and trust me, I don't want to hear it again," Jacob said quickly. He sighed. "Bells, I can't…I can't be friends with you if you're going to continue to see him. I don't know how you expect me to just sit by idly as if nothing is wrong while that bloodsucker puts his hands on you."

"Jake, nothing is wrong, I promise,"

"But you can't promise that!" Jacob yelled, shaking me.

Suddenly I was out of Jacob's grasp and behind Edward again. "You better get the fuck out of here before my patience wears out," he growled.

"Try me, asshole," Jacob said challengingly.

"Stop it!" I screamed.

Jacob looked at me, and there was a hint of sorrow in his eyes. "I'm sorry Bella, but if this is your choice, then I hope you can handle these consequences."

"It doesn't have to be this way," I said, stepping out from behind Edward and grabbing Jacob's hand. I didn't realize it until the moment, but there were tears in my eyes. "Stop it Jake, you're being so silly. It doesn't have to be this way at all."

"Yeah," Jacob replied, shrugging me off easily. "It does."

And he turned away from me, and walked off. I called after him, and even ran to catch up with him, but then he shifted – turning into a large slender wolf with russet-colored fur. And when he took off running then, there was no way to catch up to him.

I stood there, frozen, motionless, and pained. After a while, I felt hands laying gently on my shoulders, but I couldn't even turn around. Instead, I brought my own hands up to my face and cried.

_**Edward**_

So much for a happy two months, with no turmoil and trouble at all.

Fucking mutt.

Every since that terrible Sunday, Bella had been walking around in an ugly rut. She seemed only half of her usual self, if even that much. She sighed for every other breath, and was extremely unfocused – during conversations, whenever we were together, or with others. I wasn't the only who noticed – Alice asked me repeatedly if there was 'trouble in paradise', and even Jasper told me that he felt something severely troubling her.

I didn't have the heart to admit that Bella was upset of the damn puppy dog, so I told them both that everything was under control.

But it really wasn't – I had no idea what to do. It had been two weeks since the blowup - holidays were over and we were back at school - and Bella still showed no signs of cheering up any time soon.

"Bella, sweetheart," I said gently. "You haven't touched your food."

We were eating dinner at one of the local restaurants. I ended up having to order for Bella, since she was so caught up in her own world, and now her fettuccini chicken alfredo was probably getting cold as she turned it absently with her fork.

Bella looked up at the sound of my voice, her eyes reflecting sadness. "What?" she said softly. "What did you say?"

I gave her a comforting smile. "I said that you haven't touched your food."

She gave me half-smile. "You haven't touched yours either."

"Ha, ha," I replied with a smirk.

Her half-smile became a full one for only a moment, before her eyes dropped back to her plate, and she resumed her sad food-pushing activity.

"Bella," I said softly, reaching my hand across the table to hold her free one. "Talk to me."

"I'm fine," she whispered.

"No you aren't."

She sighed before looking up at me. "I don't want to bother you with all of this…"

She said that each and every time I tried to have this conversation with her. Anytime I tried to ask her what was going on, she told me that she didn't want to 'bother' me with her issues.

I gave her my most honest expression. "When I asked to be your boyfriend, Bella, I asked to be the one to be bothered with your issues. I want to be there for you, Bella, but you have to let me be there."

Bella sighed again, and put her fork down. "It's Jacob," she said quietly.

"I know that it's Jacob," I said.

"I just can't wrap my head around all of this," she said. "I just don't understand why Jacob is acting this way, cutting me out of his life like this and–" her voice broke "–not wanting to be friends anymore."

"He still wants to be friends, I'm sure," I told her. "He just doesn't know how to do that with me in the picture."

"But he says that he's the Alpha of his pack!" she said in frustration. "And he said that being the Alpha makes him the leader, and if he's the leader, can't he just do whatever he wants? Or handle things the way he wants to?" She brought her hands up to her eyes, and it hurt me to see her wiping away tears. "He's choosing for things to be this way. He _wants _them this way."

"He doesn't want them to be this way. But you can't expect him to go back on years and years worth of culture, history and tradition. He's doing what he thinks is right."

"But it's not right," Bella insisted. "He's so convinced that you're going to hurt me, and I know you wouldn't, and he refuses to believe me. And now he won't even talk to me. I call and call, and he won't pick up. And I know if we could just talk like level-headed people–"

"But how many times have you talked to him about all of this Bella?" I asked her. "And how understanding has he been about all of this in the past?"

"It's because he doesn't understand everything yet," Bella said quickly, and her face looked like she wanted that to be the truth. "I could work to get him to understand things. I could get him to understand…."

Bella's broken expression was breaking me. Fucking dirty mutt. If I knew that it wouldn't make things worse, I would rip the fucking asshole to shreds. Instead, I tried to look sympathetic as Bella tried to compose herself.

"I know, you probably don't want to hear all of this," Bella said, wiping her eyes again. "I know you don't really like him or anything. It's just hard to deal with: Jacob was my first friend when I arrived in Forks. And now…"

"Maybe you and I shouldn't see each other anymore," I suggested, but it pained me to do so. "That way you could work things out with Jacob."

Bella looked at me with wide eyes. "Never," she said quickly, taking my hands in hers. "Edward, you make me happier than anyone else in my life right now. The last thing I want to do is lose you. I can't imagine anyone else who would put up with my mood right now like you are, and I'm so happy to have you here for that." She blushed slightly as she added, "Among other things of course."

Inside, I skipped, but I kept my expression neutral for Bella: I knew it wasn't the time yet to smile gleefully. "I just wish," she sighed, "that I could have you both, that's all." Then she glanced back down at her dinner. "I'm not hungry anymore," she said softly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I said. "I'll drop you home."

"Thanks."

I got and paid the check quickly before ushering Bella out the restaurant. We drove home quietly, Bella pouting out the window while I concentrated on getting her home. When we finally pulled up to her place, I turned to her.

"I can't ask you not to be sad," I said. "But you know I'm going to try all I can to make you feel better, don't you?"

She turned to me, her face apologetic. "I know I've been a downer lately. Thanks for putting up with all of this."

"I don't ever 'put up' when it comes to you, Bella. I'm here because I want to be."

I leaned over, and thankfully, she met me halfway for a soft, delicate kiss. I touched the side of her face gently as we kissed, enjoying the feel of her lips against mine. When she finally pulled away, I instantly missed her touch.

"Goodnight Edward," she said softly.

I pulled my hand away from her face slowly. "Goodnight Bella."

She got out of the car and I waited until she was inside before I pulled off. I wasn't heading home, but to the city limit between La Push and Forks. I couldn't go on the reservation lands, but I knew one of the mutt's pack would see me getting close and give him the heads up that I was coming.

Operation: "Try All I Can To Make Bella Better" was in effect.

True to form, I was only parked at the limit for ten minutes before I could I picked up the stink of Jacob approaching. When I finally saw his form, he was glaring down at me with a hard expression. I tried not to get heated myself – one of us had to stay calm.

"Hello again, Jacob," I said pleasantly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jacob growled.

"Look, let's make this easy and painless," I said. "I don't like you, and you don't like me."

"Correction, I fucking hate you."

A half-laugh left my throat: _feeling is mutual. _"There is one thing that we both have in common though, and that's Bella. And the way you're acting is tearing her up inside."

"I can't be that bad," Jacob grumbled. "Not when she has you around to make things perfect for her again."

"Unfortunately, I am not enough," I said quietly, upset to have to admit it in the first place.

Jacob looked smug, which made me want to punch him. "So you're asking for my help, is that it?"

"I'm asking for you to be nice to Bella," I replied. "If you care about Bella as much as you say you do, you would be able to put aside the fact that she and I have a relationship to build your relationship with her."

"You can't expect me to sit back and–"

"I don't expect to you do anything but be a friend to Bella," I said quickly. "If you feel that that includes reminding her how dangerous I am every other second and keeping your eye on me, then so be it."

"Oh trust me bloodsucker, my whole pack has had our eyes on you and your coven. So you don't have to worry about that part."

I sighed in irritation. "Could you just call Bella, please? She misses you like crazy, and she's upset that things have to be this way. And both of us know that it doesn't have to be." I put on my own smug expression. "You're just upset that Bella isn't in love with you like you are with her."

Jacob growled. "That has nothing–"

"It has everything to do with your behavior," I said, interrupting him. "Please don't try to convince me otherwise, I can hear your thoughts loud and clear. Now, I don't know how exactly you're going to fix things, but you better fix them, or things will get fucking ugly between us."

"You don't tell me what to do," Jacob said harshly.

"I know I don't. You, ultimately, make your own decision. But if you can live with the knowledge that Bella is tormented, then I guess you don't care about her as much as you say you do."

I decided to leave him marinating on that note, and hopefully that would get through to him. I got back into my car and sped off, leaving Jacob standing alone on the city limits to ponder things.

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**Hope you all loved this:: review for me please! It would make me so happy!**

**Will update as soon as I can!**

**--Brin--**


	10. Chapter 9, New Thoughts

**Life and I have been in a serious battle, and Life has been kicking my ass, especially when it came to giving me Free Time. Plus, I wanted to make sure this chapter was just right before I posted it, and to be perfectly honest, I still don't feel amazing about it yet. But I've been working, and re-working it, so I'm guessing this is the way it wants to be. So hopefully you all enjoy it! =)**

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine, none of the characters, none of the components**

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**Chapter Nine, New Thoughts**

_**Bella**_

I was lying on my bed with the sheet pulled over my head, when my cell phone started ringing. I didn't even want to reach for it – it was either Edward, who was just calling to check up on me, or Alice, who was calling me constantly about how I needed to get it together and stop treating Edward so badly.

I couldn't even get mad at her for that, because she was so right. I knew I was being unfair to Edward – I had spent the last couple of days in a miserable daze, while he could only stand idly by. Try as I might to live otherwise, not having Jacob in my life was upsetting more than I could have guessed. It wasn't that he and I were impossibly close, but he was the only one I could count on to hang out with when I used to visit Charlie back in the day, and as soon as I had moved here permanently, we had made a point to see each other at least once a week. True, once I had started getting involved with Edward, I had seen less of him than usual, and I could only blame myself for that.

But now he wanted to cut me off completely _because _of Edward!

_Bells, I can't…I can't be friends with you if you're going to continue to see him._

I called him repeatedly, left him messages to call me, but I got no response. I even went all the way to Jacob's house, only to be met by his father Billy, who gave me an odd but angry look and told me that Jacob wasn't available to me. I remembered that Billy had been the one that told Jacob the story about 'The Cold Ones' and probably knew all about my relationship with Edward, and felt the same way that Jacob did.

My phone stopped ringing, but then started back in another couple of seconds. Regrettably, I moved from my comfortable position of wallowing to reach for the phone. Flashing on my screen, was – as I figured – Alice.

"Hey," I answered quietly.

"Hey mopey," Alice said teasingly. "And how are you today?"

"Can you tell Edward I love him, and that I'm so sorry for cancelling on him today?" I moaned. Edward and I were supposed to see each other today in our meadow, but I just couldn't allow myself to spend more time with Edward when all I could think about was Jacob.

"Oh he's already over it," Alice said casually. "A friend of the family, Tanya, is here, and she's upstairs making him feel all better."

I perked up instantly at that, sitting up in bed and my eyes going wide. "W-W-What?"

Alice started to laugh. "Just a joke, but I needed you to get up out of that bed, and I knew that would work."

I growled. "That's not even funny, Al."

"Come on, you know Edward is crazy about you. How could you even take me serious?"

I didn't want to forgive her just yet. "Why did I need to get up?" I asked her in a hard tone.

"Just had a vision," Alice said. "It was pretty cloudy, there was a figure I couldn't quite make out what, or actually, who, was coming towards your house, but you were surprised to see the person there. I can't really make out wolves in my visions – never really knew why – but I'm guessing that I saw Jacob coming to your place, and I just wanted to give you the heads up."

My eyes went even wider. "Jacob?"

"Well, I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing nine times out of ten, yes. Edward went to talk to him you know, about how he was handling this situation. They had, I guess you could call it, a heart-to-heart. And maybe Jacob finally going to come to some form of sense."

I could barely hear a thing Alice was saying. _Jacob was coming to see me? _It seemed so unbelievable: he had spent the last twelve days avoiding me adamantly, that for him to just show up at my house seemed slim to impossible.

Then again, Jacob was always spontaneous like that – it was one of the things I loved at about him. One minute we're watching television and the following minute he's suggesting that we do some cliff diving out by the La Push city limits. I found myself smiling at the thought of Jacob coming to see me: maybe he wanted to make things better?

"Bella?"

Alice's voice surprised me. "Oh, sorry Al, I got–"

"I know, don't worry about it. We all know what a head case you've been lately," Alice said lightly. "I just hope this mutt has some good news for you, or else that will be the end of Edward's patience."

My smile grew at the thought of Edward's concern for me. "Tell him that–"

"You love him, I got that the first time," Alice finished teasingly for me. "Jacob should be there in the next five minutes. I wish you both the best of luck."

I felt a lot happier than I had in days when I disconnected the call. Jacob was coming to see me, and Edward still cared about me despite my foul attitude lately. Both were some of the best news I had heard in a while – although, I couldn't allow myself to get too excited about Jacob's visit: it could easily be bad news as much as it could be good news.

I didn't allow myself to dwell on the possibility of something negative – I hopped out of bed and pulled a pair of sweatpants over my underwear. Just as I had made the decision to brush my hair, my cell phone rang again. This time, Jacobs's name flashed on my screen.

Tentatively, I answered the call, "H-H-Hello?"

"Bella," My name came out in a sigh of relief, as if he had expected me not answer. "Hey."

"Hi," I said quietly.

"Could you meet me outside? I think we should talk."

I nodded at first, and then realized he couldn't hear me nod. "Yeah, okay," I said before hanging up.

I secured my hair in a bun with a clip and went downstairs. By the time I opened the door, Jacob was standing there, his face torn with various expressions. Even though Alice had warned me about his arrival, and I had just gotten off the phone with him, I was still surprised to see him standing there. What secretly pleased me is that he looked as rough as I felt inside, which meant I wasn't the only one being tormented by this whole ordeal.

"Jeez Bells," Jacob said. "You look terrible."

I frowned at him. "You look just as bad."

"Yeah, I know," he replied pathetically. He ran his hand over his dark hair and then took a deep breath. "Walk with me? Not far, but," he stopped, "just around I guess."

I nodded and slipped into a pair of Charlie's shoes that were by the door. It was an old pair of bedroom slippers that Charlie only used to get the paper, but I figured they would suffice for now. Jacob reached for my hand slowly, as he led us way from my house. The warmth of his hand was familiar, yet strange – I had gotten so used to the cold touch of a Cullen.

We were silent – Jacob took us around the block a couple of times, but he didn't say anything. And I had no idea what to say to him. I had spent the last couple of days thinking of many things I would want to say to him, and now I couldn't come up with one. It was almost nice, just walking around with him in silence, but at the same time, it wasn't comfortable, because we weren't comfortable with each other.

"Jake–"

"Yes?" He spun around to face me so quickly, that I was caught off guard.

I frowned. "Well what is it?" I asked. "You came to see me, so what is it?"

He frowned at me slightly. "You don't have anything to say to me?"

"Not right now I don't," I replied honestly. I narrowed my eyes at him. "I had a lot of things to say to you a couple of days ago, but you wouldn't answer my calls then. Now I'm waiting for you to say something to me."

Jacob sighed. "I know," he whispered. "I'm sorry. And I do have something to say to you." His expression was earnest. "I'm so sorry about anything Bella."

I waited for something else, but Jacob just kept staring at me with this honest expression.

It made me angry. It made me incredibly furious that he thought that "I'm sorry" was going to fix everything. I had spent the last twelve days sobbing, being miserable, and pushing away the love of my life because of him. And all he could say for all of this was: I'm sorry.

So I lifted my hands and pushed him as hard as I could. He actually stumbled back and then said, "Bells, the fuck? What was that for?"

"Because you're such a fucking idiot!" I yelled at him. "You think that 'I'm sorry' will fix everything? You think that your 'sorry' takes away from the days I spent in my slump, moaning about how I lost my best friend? You think your 'sorry' takes away the pain I felt when you _told _me we weren't friends anymore? You know how many 'sorries' I gotten from you as of late? I fucking pisses me off that you think this sorry thing makes everything better! Let me tell you something Jacob Black, it does not fucking make it better. You're sorry? Well I don't forgive you, how about that!"

Jacob was cowering from me once I was done yelling. But in my pause of rant, I realized I wasn't even done yelling. "Edward was right about you. You don't care about me. You don't care about our friendship. You don't give a fuck. You want to stop being friends because I got a boyfriend that you don't like. You won't even stop to realize just how happy I am with Edward. You're too busy being selfish and you wanting everything to go your way, even if it makes me unhappy. And when it couldn't go your way, you completely cut me off. And only when _you're _ready to fix things is when you contact me. You can't answer the phone when I call you, but you expect me to just drop everything and forgive you as soon as you decide you should be forgiven. Fuck you Jacob Black. Fuck you."

"Bella–"

"No, shut the fuck up!" I screamed, cutting him off. "I don't want to hear anything from you now. For once, I'm going to act like you and cut _you _the fuck off, and when _I'm _ready to talk to you again, I'll give you a fucking call. But the way I feel right now Jacob Black, I never want to see your fucking face again!"

I turned away from him and walked off towards my house, but then I felt a hand grabbing my wrist. Jacob whipped me around and pulled me close. Before I could even get my bearings back, I felt lips pressed on mine. My face scrunched up with discomfort and I tried to wriggle myself free, but Jacob was holding me too tightly. I remained tense as Jacob kissed me, and when he finally let me go, I was angrier than before.

"What are you doing Jake?" I screamed at him.

"I bet you never knew how I really felt about you Bella," Jacob yelled back at me. "I bet you had no idea that all these years you mean more than the world to me."

"To be perfectly honest, I couldn't really tell considering the way you completely threw me out of your life a few days ago! Or I bet you never really knew: people who care about each other don't treat them the way you've been treating me."

"Well how do you think I'm supposed to react when you fall in love with my mortal enemy!"

"Don't be juvenile Jacob. Edward is just a guy, who happens to be a vampire. But the two of you aren't at fucking war, or anything like that!"

"This whole time, all I've been trying to do is what's best for you. You can't grow old with that monster. You can't love him, and he can't love you. But we could be happy together Bella. We _are _happy together, and we had always been happy together before that bloodsucker came and fucked things up."

"You _do not _talk about Edward that way!" I yelled. "Edward has been wonderful, better than you've been. While I've been struggling with this whole thing with you, he's been there for me, put up with me, listened to me. Things that you conveniently forgot about every since you knew he and I were dating. If you really cared about me, you'd be happy that I've found someone that makes me so happy."

"I make you happy Bella!"

"Yes, but someone else can do it too Jacob. And god, it doesn't mean that you don't make me happy anymore. You're the one that's making this seem impossible. It can work between the three of us."

"You can't have me and him, Bella."

"Then I don't want you!" I shrieked.

There was a long silence between the two of us, my words hanging in the air. I wouldn't take them back either, even though my heart was begging me to do so. But Jacob clearly wanted to me to make a choice, and I knew where the right one was.

Jacob's whole face pulled into an angry frown. "I love you Bella Swan."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Fuck off Jacob."

"Bella." His voice took on a more serious tone, and he took my hands in his, his dark eyes penetrating. "I love you."

I glanced up at him, took in the realness in his eyes, and knew what he had said was true. He had loved me for a long time, but I just never noticed it. And the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if maybe I had loved Jacob like this as well, once upon a time…maybe even all this time. It hurt me more than words could bear to be without him for those few days. Couldn't one easily chalk that feeling up to love?

Yes, I probably did love Jacob Black just as much as he loved me. If I put aside my fury for him, I know there was a glimpse of something there when he kissed me. And next to Edward, Jacob always knew how to make me happy.

But I wasn't in love with him: that rite belonged to Edward. And lately, all Jacob brought me was turmoil and pain and misery. It wasn't the same between us, and I couldn't feel the same way about him as he did for me. Not after all of this.

So, yes, Jacob loved me, but I couldn't accept it. I made a decision, and I wouldn't go back on it. Instead, I pulled my hands back from his hold and softly said, "You have a weird method of showing it Jacob." My eyes dropped from his face. "And I don't want to deal with it anymore. Not right now. And maybe not ever again."

"Bella–" His voice was pleading with me. And it reminded me of my own voice those days ago, when he was leaving me. Except, when Jacob walked away from me, he probably knew he was coming right back to me.

But as I was walking away from Jacob, I knew that there was nothing to come back to.

"I'm sorry Jake," I whispered as I went away.

_**Edward**_

_Bella's coming._

Alice's mental message was music to my ears. I flew down the stairs and waited anxiously at the door for her to arrive. I missed her more than I thought possible, and wanted nothing more than to hold her as close to me as possible and bury my nose in her soft dark hair.

_She's upset, Eddie. She's very upset. Things with Jacob didn't go well._

Just as I heard that, the doorbell rang. Bella was standing there, and upset wasn't the right word for how she looked. Her eyes were puffy and red, and there were several dried tears streaks down her face. Her breathing was short and broken, and she looked like she was going to start crying again.

"Bella," I said soothingly, instinctively drawing her close to me and putting my arms around her. "My sweetheart."

"Edward," Bella choked out finally, before bursting into tears against my shirt. "I saw Jacob, and-and it didn't go well, and–"

Immediately I sifting through the random thoughts I constantly received to find Jacob's. Once I recognized the mutt's voice, heard him replaying his last interaction with Bella over and over in his mind.

_How did it happen that way? I kissed her, and I thought she would notice…I thought she would feel it too. Feel something between us. But instead, she never wants to see me again? Because of what? Why? She says I'm selfish, but doesn't she know that everything I do is because of her? Doesn't she know that I am sorry? That if I could use more words that sorry, I would? Doesn't she understand how much I love her?_

_She can't grow old with that bloodsucker. She can't even be in a real relationship with him. He doesn't eat the things she eats, drinks the things she drinks. They can't be together the way she's imagining. Not the way she and I could be together. The only way they could be together…._

_Bella would never…._

_At least, the Bella I used to know would never…_

I growled to myself when I saw Jacob kissing Bella. The mutt was crushing her, forcing himself on her. Bella didn't even look comfortable. The thought alone wanted me to find him right now. But I pulled myself from Jacob's thoughts and refocused myself on Bella, who was still crying against my chest.

"Sweetheart," I murmured softly in her hair.

"Edward, I can't talk to him anymore," she was saying. "It hurts to much, because I love Jacob. I do. But he's hurt me so much recently, and I can't take it anymore. He's being irrational. You were right, he doesn't want to understand things. He doesn't care. He doesn't care about me."

"He cares about you," I replied. _That much I can tell. _"He just doesn't like us together."

"Then he doesn't care about me!" She cried out indignantly. "If he really cared about me, he'd understand how much you mean to me, how happy you make me, and he'd be happy for me about that." She backed away from me to wipe her eyes. "But he's not. He won't understand. And I can't accept him for that. He doesn't care about me," her voice trailed off for a moment, then she looked up at me with shiny brown eyes, "not like you do."

I smiled at her warmly, tucking her hair behind her ears and wiping away a rolling tear. "No, he doesn't care about you like I do," I whispered. "I love you, Bella Swan."

Her face lit up, her eyes dancing. "I love you, Edward Cullen."

I kissed her softly, tenderly, and I felt her relax in my embrace. In a gesture I couldn't resist, I swept her off her feet and carried her, bridal-style, it the house. Immediately, she started laughing, at the light in her face was one I recognized and very happy to see again. She hooked her arms around as I carried her up the stairs. Alice poked her head out of her room just as we reach the top stair.

"Oh Bella, it's so good to see you," Alice said.

"You can have your chance with her later," I said quickly, seeing visions of shopping and gossiping in my mind. "Me first."

Alice rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Fi-ine," she said in a mock-angry voice, just before sticking her head back in her room.

Once I had us on the inside of my bedroom, I told her, "I hope you don't mind me intercepting Alice like that. I just don't feel like sharing you right now."

"You'll never have to share me Edward," Bella replied softly as I set her down on my bed. "I'm always and forever yours."

I smiled at her words, but suddenly my mind flashed back to Jacob: _she can't grow old with him. The only way they could be together…but Bella would never…._

"You make me feel incredible Bella," I told her softly, softly stroking the side of her face. "I wish I could be with you always and forever."

Her face crinkled into a frown. "What do you mean, you wish?"

I didn't want to say it: what I was thinking was the impossible. I didn't even want that for her – even with Alice's vision playing in my mind, I didn't want Bella to have to live the half-life that I lived. I couldn't do that to her: I loved her too much.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter," I whispered to her. "Let's not talk about that." I smiled at her. "I just want to sit here and play in your hair if you don't mind."

She looked at me suggestively. "Or we could do something else if you want."

I pulled her closer to me, intrigued. "I'm guessing you have some good things in mind."

She playfully undid the buttons of my shirt. "Just some."

_**Bella**_

_I wish I could be with you always and forever._

What had he meant from that?

I left Edward's house only a few minutes ago – Charlie had called us mid-disrobe and told me I needed to return home urgently. Even though I was completely willing to blow it off so that I could make up for all the lack of romance between my boyfriend and I, Edward urged me to go home. I made him promise to come see me tonight as soon as I called him before I left though, since Edward never went back on his promises.

When I did get home, the big emergency turned out to be Jacob – Billy Black had gone from hating me to begging for me to come over and see his son. I told Charlie that Jacob and I had gotten in a fight earlier today, and I wasn't in the right state of mind to see him so soon after it all. Charlie seemed to take this understandingly – partially because of my stellar delivery of this entire situation – and asked me to give Jacob a call in the morning.

I wasn't going to do that, but I agreed to it anyway.

When I went upstairs, I instinctively was going to call Edward right away, but even as I had my finger on the speed dial, I stopped. It was random how it came back to me – Edward's words – but once they reentered my consciousness, there was no getting rid of them.

_I wish I could be with you always and forever._

A small part of me wondered if Edward wanted to break up: that the last week and a half that had me in a miserable daze of Jacob made him think that we shouldn't be together anymore. But I pushed that part of me aside – I was pretty sure that if Edward wanted to break up, he would just do it: he was never one to beat around the bush with me anyway.

But then what could he be talking about? Why couldn't we be together forever?

I threw myself on my bed and racked my brain for possibilities. I was missing something vital. It shouldn't even be this complicated…

…And then it hit me. Hard.

_How could I have been so dense to this in the first place!_

I wasn't immortal!

Edward and I couldn't be together forever because only he could actually live forever.

Suddenly, my brain went into overdrive. Couples far and wide always talk about being together forever, but at some point, someone has to die. But with Edward – as a vampire – we could _actually _be together forever. We would walk this earth for decades, centuries, millenniums: hand in hand, deeply in love.

I could have forever with Edward. I would just have to become a vampire first.

_But to give up humanity Bella? _I turned on my bed, facing my bedside table. There was a picture of my mother and I on the surface. How would to her – to anyone I knew – that I was no longer human, but a character from fiction novels once thought to be…well, fiction? Could I even speak to my mother again? I knew about how Edward and his family had to be continuously on the move before people started to notice that they never aged. I wouldn't even be able to tell my mother that I was now a vampire, I would just have to get away from her before she began to notice that I wasn't getting any older. My life would never be the same again – I wouldn't even be alive.

_But the only alternative means giving up Edward. _I turned to my right, now facing the window that I would be expecting Edward from later on. I loved him. I would never love anyone else the way I love him, I knew that already. The only other person who I could have had feelings for like this, was Jacob…and that wasn't going to work out. No, it was only and forever going to be Edward. And there was only one way to have him forever, the way I knew that I needed him forever.

_Vampire._

Blood makes me queasy, and I would have to feed from it. Renee and Charlie: they both mean so much to me, even if I don't really see my mother as much anymore, and Charlie and I have an estranged relationship. They're still my parents, and I would have to say goodbye to them, forever.

But I love Edward, and I love his family. I even love Rosalie, who had been considerably less mean to me lately, although certainly not friendly yet. But more importantly, I loved Edward, and the thought of not being with him always and forever was too much to bear.

_Vampire._

It was strange how this had never crossed my mind once before, becoming a vampire. Edward was felt like such a regular guy that it was so easy to forget that he was a vampire. I had gotten used to his cold skin, his strong grip and the superhuman speed and gracefulness. He just seemed like anyone else to me, except much more fantastic.

But he was a vampire, and the only way to be with him the way I wanted us to be together, was to become a vampire as well.

I called Edward, absently, still caught up in my own thoughts. "Hey, listen," I said quietly. "Will you meet me in the meadow tomorrow morning?"

"Realized that sneaking me in is not the right way to go about things?" Edward joked.

"Oh stop it, silly, I'm just really tired," I lied. "But I want to see you tomorrow. At about nine-thirty, okay?"

"I'm looking forward to it."

"I love you."

"I love you too Bella."

We hung up the phone and I stared at it for a long time before finally putting it away. My mind was still reeling, and I knew I wasn't going to get any sleep for a long time.

* * *

**I'm off right now to work on the follow-up chapter, while I still have Free Time on my side and Life pinned down to the floor. Next thing you know, Life comes at me again and Free Time gets away!**

**But before I go, I do want to share with you all that I recently watched The Ugly Truth with Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, and it was QUITE entertaining! I recommend it highly for any and all to watch.**

**Will update as soon as I can! Thank you all for your paitence with me!**

**Review please!**

**--Brin--**


	11. Chapter 10, Talk of the Irreversible

**Note: Something a little racy in this chapter, though nothing too serious, just givein you all the heads up =)**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine, neither are the characters, nor are the components**

* * *

**Chapter Ten, Talk Of The Irreversible**

_**Bella**_

"Bella?"

I was on my way out the door when I heard Charlie's voice. He was watching me uncertainly. I waited for a moment for him to say something, but instead, he just stood uncomfortably stroking his chin. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What is it, Dad?" I asked.

Charlie scratched the side of his face, and then said in a quiet voice, "Are you off to see Jacob?"

I frowned at the sound of Jacob's name. "No, I'm meeting up with Edward."

"Oh, yes, Edward, of course." Charlie nodded, and then bit his bottom lip anxiously. I knew there was more he wanted to say, so I waited patiently. Finally, he said, "Listen Bells, I can't really say I know what's going on between you and Jake, but I've heard enough from Billy, that Jake is really distraught over this fight you two had."

_I can imagine, _I thought with an eye roll. But I kept pleasant with Charlie, because there was no need to get angry at him over it all – he _didn't _know the full extent of things. "I'm handling it, Dad," I told him. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm just passing along a message from Billy, dear," Charlie said quickly. "I'm sure you've got everything under control. I just wanted you to know, well, remind you, that Jake is a good guy. I mean, you know he's a good guy. And I wouldn't want this fight of yours to come between you two." Charlie paused, then said, "Won't you just give Jake a call or something, okay?"

I smiled understandingly at Charlie – I knew he was just trying to be 'the good father' right now, and I certainly couldn't get angry at him for that, even if he was suggesting something I wasn't planning to do for a while.

"Okay, Dad," was all I said.

"Okay." Charlie started smiling brightly, clearly comfortable and pleased with himself. I laughed at his sudden change in demeanor. "Well, I don't want to keep you from Edward much longer," he added.

"I won't be too late, Dad."

I turned away, and put my hand on the doorknob, but Charlie's voice stopped me again. I faced Charlie again. "What's up Dad?"

Charlie looked slightly uncomfortable again, but was still smiling, albeit nervously. "You really like this Edward boy, don't you Bells?"

I blushed, but I answered honestly. "Yeah, Dad. I really do."

He scratched the back of his head, and nodded, still smiling. "You just seem so happy when you're with him. And you've been so much happier on a whole lately. It reminds me of when me and your mother…" he voice trailed off, and then he shook his head. "That doesn't matter. Anyway, I'm really happy that you're happy Bells."

I smiled brightly. "Thanks Dad."

"I hope the two of you are being safe," he said in a sudden hard tone. "Don't think I haven't forgotten that little show of yours out on our doorstep way back when."

I blushed again, this time out of embarrassment. "Oh _no_, Dad. Please _do not _go there."

Charlie started blushing too, probably just as embarrassed as I was. Still he pressed on: "I'm your father young lady. It's only right that I be concerned about your safety."

I laughed. "Yes sir. And you don't have to worry, I'm being very safe. Can I go now?"

Charlie grinned. "Okay. Give me a call if you're going to be late."

I gave Charlie a nod and left the house.

Outside, the day was bright – an unusual thing for Forks. I embraced the rare sun, lifting my head up into its rays to warm my face. It certainly wasn't Phoenix, but at least I didn't need a coat. Maybe the warmth of spring would come in early this year – it was already mid February. I shrugged out of my jacket and folded it over my arm as I walked off towards the meadow.

The walk was a long one, almost forty minutes, but I took my time. I still needed to formulate my thoughts properly before having the conversation with Edward. I already prepared myself for the worse – for yelling, for immediate denial, and for maybe more yelling – but I had already made up my mind.

There was no turning back now.

Edward was already in the meadow once I reached the clearing. I could only stare at him when I saw him though: he was standing up shirtless in the sunlight as well, like I had been back at my house. But everywhere the sunlight touched his skin, it glistened: as if embedded with thousands and thousands of tiny diamonds. He looked like art – a statue of perfect beauty that shone evenly and wonderfully in the morning light.

I sighed aloud, unable to believe that Edward had gotten more beautiful to me than he had been before – I didn't even think it was possible.

His eyes had been closed as he was soaking up the sun, but at the sound of my sigh, they opened and his head turned towards me. The light on his eyes made them appear to be a transparent gold hue, and I blushed when they met mine.

"I forget how peaceful you are for me Bella," he said as he came towards me, stepping out of the sun. "Not being able to hear your thoughts keeps this place tranquil for me."

"Wait," I said quickly, just as he was about to take his last step out of the sun. "Stay there." I hurried towards him and placed my hands on his cool marble chest, urging him gently back into the sunlight. I took in his glittering skin again and murmured, mystified, "I've never seen you like this."

"Really?" Edward sounded genuinely surprised. "All the time we've spent together?"

"You're beautiful," I whispered.

"You're beautiful," he replied with a grin, before leaning down and pressing a light kiss on my lips.

I smiled at the contact, then I asked, "Do you always sparkle like this in the sunlight?"

"In any light," he told me. "It's one of the reasons we live in places like Forks, were its usually dark and/or rainy. Not everyone would look at us and simply think 'beautiful' like you. Others might actually find it weird."

He chuckled softly, but I barely heard him, too busy running my fingers over his smooth bare skin, still spellbound by the sparkles. _I could get used to this. _Then I tried to picture myself covered in the same glistening skin: it wasn't easy, mainly because I couldn't picture myself this beautiful ever.

"Bella?"

I looked up at the sound of my name. Edward was looking at me cautiously, but affectionately. "What are you thinking?" he asked me softly.

I was thinking a lot of things at that moment, but I knew some of them I shouldn't share just yet. So instead I said "I just didn't know you could get more beautiful."

"Aw, you'd have made me blush right there," Edward said teasingly.

I laughed, and then leaned up to receive another kiss from him. This time, it wasn't as innocent, and our tongues met in a passionate dance. Edward's hands found my waist and he drew me as close to him as possible. I could feel him hardening against my leg. I brought my hands to his jeans zipper, undoing the button and pulling the zipper down slowly. As I begun to pull down his pants and boxers, I broke away from his kiss, allowing my lips to travel down his hard body as I came down to my knees. By the time I found myself on the ground, Edward's clothes were at his ankles, and I was head-on with his large, throbbing member. It stood glorious in the light, lengthy, hard and strong.

"Bella, you don't–"

But I cut him off, plunging forward and taking as much of his shaft into my mouth as I could. It was cold at first, but immediately changed into the warmth I now felt when it came to Edward. A soft but audible groan left Edward's throat at my touch, one that allowed me to think that I wasn't about to be stopped anytime soon.

I inhaled through my nose deeply before I tightened my mouth around his member, moving my head back and forth slowly. Edward began taking hard, heavy breaths, his hands resting atop my head and fingers becoming tangled in my hair. I pushed forward, keeping my actions consistent and slow, swirling my tongue around his shaft as I moved. I placed my hand on the part of his rod that I couldn't take in, and began to stroke it slowly in time with my mouth motions. I could feel Edward pulsing slowly inside me, and breathed my name over and over, his voice music to my ears and strokes to my ego.

I went faster, bobbing back and forth with more effort, pursing my lips further to give him the tightest fit I could. The harder I worked, the easier it seemed to move further and further down his rod. I dropped my hand as I took him in deeper. Edward hissed and groaned, I even felt his body shaking, and his hands grabbed fistfuls of my hair tightly.

"God, Bella," he said in a gruff exhale.

His knees buckled once, and then I felt his muscles tense. I could feel him holding back, so I sucked him hard, trying to get him to break free of his inhibitions. Soon I could feel his hips moving in me, thrusting into my mouth to match meet me head movements. I sucked harder, encouraging him, until I felt him take complete control – grabbing hold of my head firmly as he began pumping into me. It almost made me gag – him pushing the full length of his member into my mouth – but I held my own, relax every muscle in my jaw to allow him the deepest access possible. He growled with every thrust, calling my name in harsh erotic whispers, until suddenly, my mouth was filled with his warm seed.

I swallowed it all, just as Edward pulled out of me slowly. To my surprise, he stumbled back a bit, before dropping gracefully to the ground, his hand on his chest. He seemed to be trying to catch his breath.

I glanced over at him and said teasingly, "You don't have any breath to catch you know."

"That was wow," he said quietly, sounding deeply satisfied.

I felt proud. "That was my first time, you know."

"Mine too," Edward admitted with a smile.

*

Edward and I laid together in the sunlight: he was still shirtless, and I traced my finger over his glistening chest. Under my breath, I was counting the many diamonds embedded in his skin. Every time I got close to the hundreds, Edward did something to make me lose count – shifted his body, pulled me in for a kiss, or counted loudly over me with the wrong numbers. By the time he started on that last method, I knew he was doing it on purpose.

"I realize that there are way too many for me to ever get them all, but do you mind letting me at least try?" I said in a mock-annoyed tone, glancing up at him.

Edward chuckled and looked down to meet my eyes. "You know, Alice had a vision about this. You counting my," he paused, his expression thoughtful for a moment, "freckles," he came up with finally.

I frowned at him. "Freckles? More like diamonds."

"Freckles, diamonds, same thing," Edward said with a grin.

I gave him a light kiss, but then he held me close for a deeper one. Immediately, I got tingles between my legs. I could have mounted him right then and there, but Edward broke away from me before things could escalade. I pretended to be upset, but Edward only smiled at my pouting.

"You're adorable," he murmured, pulling his fingers through my hair.

_Now, Bella, right now._

I had been putting it off long enough. We had been lying here for over an hour now, and the thought continued to circle my head. I knew I had to bring it up, and I knew there was no right way to do it.

But I couldn't help but fish for an easier way to say it. "Guess what I'm thinking?" I said playfully.

Edward's smile grew. "Tell me."

"Guess," I urged, giving him a soft one-handed shove.

He groaned. "I've _never _had to guess: I've always known. I don't even know how to play this game correctly."

"Try," I said with a grin.

Edward looked thoughtful. "You're thinking about food," he said suddenly.

I laughed. "No."

"Uh, school?"

"Why would I be thinking about school?"

"Well that's two guesses," Edward said as he gently pulled me closer to him again. "I think I've earned the right to know."

He gave me a tender but passionate kiss that brought back the tingles. When he pulled back, I fought back the giddy smile working its way to my face. "Fine, I suppose that kiss will do." I took a deep breath, and then said, "I'm thinking about us, and being together always and forever."

He smiled. "You're cute."

I took another deep breath. "I'm serious."

"Well, I think about us being together forever too. All the time. So I'm glad to know it's on your mind as well."

He didn't get it – he wouldn't be talking so casually if he had got it. I sat up straight, coming out of our lover's embrace, hoping to shed some seriousness physically. It worked, because Edward sat up too.

"I'm serious as in–" _Say it, say it, say it! _"I want to be with you forever, and I want to do whatever it takes to be with you forever. And I know that there's one surefire method for it to work out that way."

Edward looked at me intensely, his eyes smoldering. He didn't say anything, but his expression reflected knowing and understanding. And he wasn't yelling yet, so I pressed on slowly. "You could change me," I said. "You could make me just like you, and then we'd be able to be together for always."

Edward turned his head away from me, keeping up his intense silence. I waited for him to say something – anything. I touched my hair anxiously, feeling exposed. I suddenly wished I hadn't said anything at all, but I knew that it was better this way.

"You want me," Edward said slowly. "To make you, just like me." He paused – and time lurched on – and then he added, "A vampire."

"Yes," I said quietly, but with certainty. "I want you to make me into a vampire."

Edward went silent again, and now I was getting the urge to yell at him. But then he suddenly turned to face me, gold eyes blazing, and he said, "No."

My heart dropped. "No."

"Absolutely not, Bella, are you crazy?" He asked me in a hard tone. "There's no way you could become a vampire."

He was angry. I had expected him to be angry, but I hadn't expected to be so afraid of it. This controlled anger was scarier than kicking and screaming. "It's not that hard, is it?" I asked him quickly. "Just bite and–"

"Spare me, don't bother trying to act like you understand," he said, in a harsh, almost insulting tone. "You don't have a fucking clue what becoming a vampire would mean for you, or your family for god sake's." He stood up suddenly, shirt in hand as he pulled it back on to his body. "Jesus Bella, that's the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard you say."

It was just like the Edward I had met the first time around – mean, cold, and distant. I stood up quickly, fighting back tears of frustration. "It's not that dumb, Edward," I said. "It's a way for us to be together forever. I didn't think that would be dumb at all."

He turned around to face me, his expression sympathetic. "Don't misunderstand me, Bella. It's wonderful that you'd want us to be together forever. I want us to live that way as well. But I would never subject you to way I have to exist, ever."

"Even if it meant that we could be together forever?" I said, folding my arms.

"I love you too much to kill you," he said darkly.

"It wouldn't kill me, it–"

"Bella, I'm dead," Edward said gruffly. "There's no blood running through my veins, no heart pumping in my chest. Nothing. I'm dead. For you to become like me, I would have to kill you."

His words were harsh, and cut through me like knives. But even with the weight of her words on my shoulder, I had already made up my mind. "Then I'm willing to die, Edward," I said quietly. "I love you more than I will ever love anyone else."

"More than your own family?" he asked me.

"I wouldn't necessarily have to give up my family," I explained. "I mean, you guys interact with humans every day don't you? I could see my family periodically, couldn't I?"

"Newborn vampires are different from aged ones Bella. When you first become a vampire, the only thing you're going to care about is quenching your thirst. And your thirst will be insatiable, and it will not matter to you where it comes from. It's going to be that way for at least a year. If you ever saw your family – or anyone for that matter – you'd probably kill them instantly."

"I could never kill the people I care about."

"And yet, you're asking me to do that very thing."

I stopped, feeling caught. "You must understand it's for the best," I said finally.

"It's not for the best. I can't do that to you." Edward came closer to me, cupping my face in his hands. "Don't you know some of the things I love about you are your human traits? The way the blood rushes to your face when you blush? The soft sound of your breathing when you sleep?"

"Don't _you _know that at one point I'm going to die, and then you'll spend the rest of your existence without me?" I cried at him. "Don't you get that if we don't do something, time will separate us? Do you want that for us?"

"Bella, I want to–"

"–be with me forever," I finished for him. "So let's be together forever."

Edward shook his head. "I can't Bella. I just can't."

I dropped my eyes from his, feeling tears roll down my cheeks. "I thought you loved me."

"I _do _love you, Bella. It's _because _I love you why I can't do this."

I looked up at him as the tears continued to fall. "If you _really _loved me, you'd want to do this. You'd want to do whatever it takes."

"Bella–"

"So do you love me?"

"Stop asking me that," Edward said gruffly. "You know that I do."

"But you won't change me.

"I can't–"

"Then I'll ask Alice to do it," I said quickly. "Or Carlisle. If you're just afraid to do it, then someone else can take care of it."

"I'm not afraid. I just don't want you–"

"Well I want to!" I yelled. "I've already made up my mind. I want to become a vampire. I want to be with you forever, and I'm going to whatever lengths possible to be with you forever. Even if you, suddenly, don't want to be with me forever–"

"BELLA!"

"–I still want to be with you, and I want that opportunity to be available to me always." I ripped myself from Edward's grasp. "I'm going to talk to Alice. You can't stop me."

I knew he could as I walked speedily away from him: he could easily grab me right now and rush me towards my house. Or he could lap me and reach his family before I do, and then turn them all against me.

But instead, he stood mutedly in the meadow. So I took to my head start as fast as I could.

_**Edward**_

I took to the treetops, keeping my eye on Bella as I did. Sure enough, she was heading towards my house. She was serious: I should have known – Bella had been stubborn once she made up her mind. It just seemed so outrageous what she was saying – becoming a vampire at all – that I almost didn't believe that the words were actually leaving her mouth. But she was dead serious: and now she was off to confront my family.

I had to get to them first.

Once I had successfully passed Bella, I dropped from the trees and moved at my fastest speed towards my house. As I got closer, the thoughts of my family began flooding me. Only Alice was thinking directly of me though: _I wanted to tell you – warn you – but I couldn't._

So she had known all along that Bella was going to ask me to change her into a vampire?

I tried not to get angry – the last thing I needed was to get upset at my family when I needed them the most right now.

When I got to my front door, Alice opened it before I could place my hand on the knob. "Bella is pretty far back," she said to me. "She's starting to wander, rethinking things. She wants to make sure when she talks to us that she's completely coherent and straightforward, so that things don't go wrong the way she thinks they went wrong with you." Alice paused to let me in the house, then added, "We have close to an hour to talk things out."

"Is everyone here?" I asked her.

"Carlisle is leaving the office. Ten minutes, and he'll be here."

"You knew she was going to ask me to change her?"

Alice nodded. "But when I found out, you were already at the meadow with Bella. There was no way to reach you."

I walked over to the living room and collapsed on one of the sofas. "What am I going to do Al?" I asked her.

Alice sat down on the coffee table in front of my sofa. "Trust me Eddie, if I knew all the answers, I would give them to you right now. But I can only see the future, and not even that is always certain."

"Do you see me changing Bella?" I asked her softly.

Alice's temporarily become focused elsewhere, and a few minutes of silence passed, but then she shook her head. "It isn't clear, you haven't made up your mind. I just keep shifting back and forth between you changing her, her remaining unchanged, or Carlisle changing her."

I was surprised at that last one. "Carlisle?"

Alice nodded. "She's going to ask him out of all of us to change her, if you don't agree to it."

"And he's going to agree?" I almost yelled.

"I don't know!" Alice yelled back. "Please Eddie, don't take these things to heart. Nothing is clear to me right now."

"Right," I murmured softly as I closed my eyes. "Right."

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "I know this has to be hard for you," Alice was saying. "But you know that we're all going to support you a hundred percent, no matter what the circumstances. We're your family." She gave my shoulder a squeeze, then said, "I'm going to get everyone else, Carlisle will be coming through that door in fifteen seconds."

I opened my eyes just in time to catch Alice getting up from the coffee table, and seeing Carlisle coming in through the door. "Carlisle," I called to him, as he came out of his jacket. "I need a family meeting."

"What's wrong son?" Carlisle asked as he came over to me.

"Bella," I said. Carlisle nodded with understanding: _I knew this moment would come eventually. I had only hoped that more time would pass before it actually came to pass. _"Alice is getting everyone else," I added.

"Good," Carlisle said slowly as he came over to where I was lying. I sat up straight to give him room to sit. "We're going to need to consult everyone on this."

"There's one other thing," I said in a lowered tone. "She's coming here, to ask the family. But she's going to want you to do it. Alice thinks she saw you…." I couldn't finish: it was still too much to imagine.

Again, Carlisle understood: _I would never do that without your consent, son. I hope you know that. Even if I agreed to Bella's wishes, I would never carry them out without your approval._

I nodded in relief. Alice returned to the living room, with the rest of the family following behind her. Rosalie already looked irritated, but I tried not to let it unnerve me. Emmett pulled Rosalie into his lap as he took a seat in a large armchair. Esme sat next to Carlisle on the sofa with me and Jasper and Alice took refuge in the loveseat.

"What's going on sweetheart?" Esme asked kindly.

I composed myself, knowing that it would be better to just say it than dance around the situation. "Bella wants to be part of the family."

Esme's gasp interrupted me. "Eddie, that's wonderful," she cooed. "When's the wedding?"

The question genuinely surprised me. I hadn't even thought about marrying Bella. Yet, that was so much easier to picture in my mind: Bella in full white, a beautiful blushing bride, while I waited for her at the altar.

"It's not a wedding," I said slowly, though now that particular idea was starting to cement itself in my mind. "She wants to be part of the family, as in, she wants to be one of us. She wants to be changed–"

"–into a vampire!" Rosalie finished for me a in a shrill.

"Yes," I said calmly.

"You told her no, didn't you?" Rose asked, though it sounded more like a demand. "You have to have told her no. There's no way to change her."

"Rose, baby," Emmett said, trying to soothe her.

But she ignored him: "We're not allowed to bite anyone Edward, or else we'll have to leave this place and never come back. The wolves won't allow it, or have you forgotten in all your punch-drunk love?"

"I haven't forgotten Rosalie," I growled at her. "And you'd think you'd be happy for me that I finally found someone who makes me happy."

Rosalie fell silent, which pleased me greatly. Instead, Jasper spoke to me next. "Did you tell her about the pact with the wolves?"

I shook my head. "Didn't have the chance. When she brought it up, the whole situation turned messy afterwards. She's actually on her way here right now, to talk to everyone. I just wanted to make sure to get here before her."

Rosalie let out a frustrated groan, but didn't follow up on it. "What are you thinking Edward?" Esme asked me quietly.

"I honestly don't know," I replied softly. "Part of me knows and understands all the complications that come with having a newborn vampire: we'd have to move from here, and then we wouldn't ever be able to return. I know that this would possibly take Bella away from her family forever. And well, this takes Bella away from _humanity _forever." I stopped and ran a hand over my hair. "But then this other part of me, does want to be with Bella forever."

Alice grinned at me. "I knew you'd like her Eddie."

"I do," I replied. "I love her, and I can't imagine having to continue existing without her. She made her point: this would solve everything." I sighed. "If only it was that easy."

"Edward, son–" Carlisle was speaking now "–I must say that over the past few months, I've never seen you happier, and I know that that has everything to do with Bella. I, like you, can't imagine you existing the same way without her. She makes you happy, you make her happy."

"You're a perfect match," Esme added with a smile.

"And we're you're family man," Emmett said. "We're happy when you're happy. And we stand behind whatever you decide." He put his arm around Rosalie as he added, "All of us."

Rosalie looked slightly uncomfortable as she tuck a lock of long blond hair behind her ears. "I know I haven't been the best to Bella," she whispered. "But I am happy that you found someone who makes you happy." She paused. "But you can't take her humanity from her Eddie."

"I don't want to Rose," I said, happy that she had finally been honest with me. "But Bella has already made up her mind. When I told her that I didn't want to do it, she accused me of not wanting to be with her anymore. And would never be the case. This is just hard."

"You should tell her that," Carlisle said. "She'll understand if you guys really sit down and have a heart-to-heart about this whole thing – the same way you sat down with all of us. I can imagine that when she first brought it up to you, you guys didn't have a calm conversation like the one we're all having now."

"No, not quite," I admitted.

"So just try talking to her again, and tell her the whole situation – the pact with the wolves, the complications, and the confusion you're feeling about it all," Alice said. "She'll understand, Edward."

"And ultimately, we cannot decide whether or not you should change her," Carlisle said. "If you felt that it would be too much for you to do, that you couldn't be sure if you could stop, you know that I would step in to help you if necessary. But the decision to change her or not remains solely up to you and Bella. Our duty as a family is to stand behind you a hundred percent."

"Thank you," I said. I looked at Rosalie, who smiled slightly. "I really appreciate all the support."

I heard Alice's thoughts: _she's here, Eddie._

I nodded in Alice's direction and stood up. I was ready to talk, really talk to her. I walked to the front door, and after another glance back at my entire family, I opened the door.

* * *

**I'm going to work on the next chapter as soon as I find the time, but right now, I need a nap:: its been such a long week!**

**I hope you all enjoyed this, leave me a review to say so! It would be very much appreciated, thank you!**

**Until my next update!**

**--Brin--**


	12. Chapter 11, Dabbling In Danger

**This chapter is long overdue, and probably shorter than my usual chapters, but I hope that no one will fault me for it. It was so hard to get this chapter out with everything going on in my life right now.... I'm just glad it finally came together. I hope you all will feel the same way.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing of Twilight's is mine**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven, Dabbling In Danger**

_**Bella**_

I listened carefully and calmly to Edward as he told me about the conversation he had had with his family. He seemed flustered as he spoke, running his hand over his bronze curls and dropping his eyes from mine often. I don't think I had ever seen him look so vulnerable before, and I knew immediately that the things he was saying were hard for him. All the anger for him seeped out of me easily, and now I just wanted him to hold him close and stroke the top of his head, like he did for me many times.

When he opened the door at the Cullen home – about thirty minutes ago – he told me not to say anything yet, and just walk with him. I was ready to argue with him and demand that he let me see his family, but when he took my hand and gently led me away, I couldn't ignore the intimate connection I had with him, so I said nothing. We got into his car and he drove us to Starbucks, the only one being near the limits of Forks and La Push. Over a caramel frappuccino in a cozy booth at the back of the store, I listened.

Of course, Edward made perfect sense – his need to keep me alive due to his love for me, the torment he struggled with at wanting to kill me to selfishly keep me for himself, and the dispute between the vampires and the wolves that added only more distress to the situation. By the time Edward was done talking, he seemed almost exhausted. I put my hand behind his head and affectionately rubbed my fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry," I said, "for saying that you didn't love me enough."

"It's okay," Edward said in a quiet voice. "I know you didn't mean it."

I dropped my eyes momentarily. "I did mean it, at the time. I couldn't understand, I just thought this whole thing would be easy, being changed. And when you said no, I just couldn't understand _why _you would say no."

Edward sighed. "Well, now you do."

I managed a weak smile. "I'm glad you told me."

We sat quietly, almost awkwardly, after that. I didn't know what more to say: suddenly there were flaws in, what I thought was, my foolproof plan. I didn't want to say it out loud, but I was upset all over again. The only thing different now was that I wasn't mad at Edward. I was mad at the fact that my plan for wanting to be with Edward forever was being foiled like this.

And to be honest, all of my anger was dictated to one thing.

One person.

Jacob Black.

Yes, maybe when I would be first changed, I would have to be away from my family – from all civilization – for at least a year, due to my immense thirst as a newborn vampire. But after that year, I could assimilate back into the world much like the Cullens did now. And yes, maybe the people who knew me would notice that I wasn't getting older. But then again, maybe they wouldn't – I had already attained some form of mature physicality. So long as I kept track of what my age should be with the right people, that hurdle could easily be jumped.

And while Edward's concern for my humanity touched me more than I would let on to him – that it hurt him to consider ending my life for one of existence forever, I had already decided that I was ready to trade life for existence. I wanted to be a vampire and be with Edward forever. My humanity meant nothing to me if I was going to be separated by Edward at some point. I didn't want to seventy-five, shriveled and old while Edward stayed young and beautiful. I wanted us both to be young and exist forever together. And I have already believed that I would be able to do both – be a vampire with Edward forever, and keep some of the routines of my human life as well. My mind was made up, so Edward needed nothing to be concerned about.

All in all, there was only one thing stopping me and Edward from being together the way I way we wanted to be.

Jacob. Fucking. Black.

The agreement between the Quileutes and the Cullens was outdated and ludicrous. If Jacob was the leader of the pack now, then he could determine whether or not this pact was still valid. And certainly Edward wouldn't be _killing me _if I _asked _him to do it. There would be no need to start a war with the Cullens over something that was a consensual act.

But when I tried to imagine having that particular conversation with Jacob, all I could see was him yelling and screaming about 'bloodsuckers' and 'tradition' and whatever else he could come up with to yell and scream at.

Dumb. Fucking. Jacob. Black.

"Penny for your thoughts," Edward said in a quiet voice, touching my knee gently.

I sighed, and then leaned into his chest. "I'm just so frustrated with all of this, Edward," I told him. "I just want to be with you."

"You are with me."

"You know what I mean," I said, glancing up into his eyes.

He put his arms around me and pulled me close. "I know."

"I want this Edward," I said quietly. "I want this more than anything in the world right now. I want this for us. I love you, and I want to be with you. Forever." I sighed, and then added, "Is that so much to ask for?"

He gave me a playful squeeze. "I guess so," he said teasingly.

I laughed a little before leaning closer to Edward, my head turned to lie flat on his chest. As Edward started to stroke my shoulder affectionately with one finger, my mind went back to Jacob. I already knew that there was no way to make him understand things – I had already tried that thousands of times without any success. But he was the one coming between Edward and I. His stubbornness was ruining everything.

_Maybe it doesn't have to._

I glanced up at Edward, making sure to choose my words carefully before I spoke. "How serious is this pact between you and the Quileutes?"

"Very serious," Edward said, looking down at me with a curious expression. "You heard what I said. Jacob and his entire pack are already prepared to attack should one of us break the pact. They're basically waiting for us to fuck up."

I paused, shifting out of Edward's grasp to look him directly in the eye. "What if we did it anyway?"

Edward frowned. "Bella–"

"Just hear me out Edward," I said quickly. "They said you can't kill anyone on these lands right? Well what if you changed me somewhere else? Anywhere else? We're about to graduate high school anyway, and I'm going away for college anyway. I'll just use college as the pretense to leave Forks. And if we do while we're gone, they can't attack you and your family, right?"

Edward looked hesitant. "Yeah…"

I could hear the uncertainty in his voice. "But?"

He sighed. "I would agree with this if maybe Jacob was the Alpha, and if you and he didn't have a relationship. But knowing Jacob and his heated temper, and how pressed he is to live up to his role as an Alpha, I wouldn't put it past him to come and track us down if we changed you."

"He can't do that though," I said. "You wouldn't be breaking he pact."

"But if you came back to visit Forks, and he saw that you were changed, I doubt it would go over well."

I folded my arms. "Then I won't come back here."

"And give up Charlie?"

My heart squeezed painfully a little. _Charlie. _"Right," I whispered.

Edward took my hand, holding it gently in his. "Bella, if I knew how to make this work, I would. But there's just so much working against us." He exhaled slowly. "Maybe we should just be content with where we're at now."

"Don't Edward," I said, taking my hand back from him. "I've already made up my mind. There has to be some way to make this work. I'm not giving up just because we have this one hurdle in our way." _Especially when that hurdle's name is Jacob Black._

Edward gave me a careful look. "You're not going to do anything stupid, right Bella?"

"No!" I said quickly. By my fast response made Edward's expression become even more wary. "No Edward," I said slower. "I'm not going to do anything stupid."

I wasn't sure if Edward believed me…and I was pretty sure I didn't believe myself either.

*

I went to Jacob's house. I told Edward that I wanted to lie down and rest and that I'd call him tomorrow morning. But instead, I waited for him to drive away before preparing to leave my house again. I stopped to peak in with Charlie before I left:

"I'm going to see Jacob," I said.

Charlie, who was sitting up in his bed flipping through a sports magazine, smiled. "That's very mature of you Bella. I'm glad you're finally ready to work things out with Jacob."

I smiled back, though mine was false. "I don't know how long I'll be."

"Have Billy call if you think you might be late."

"Alrighty, Dad."

I closed his bedroom door before heading down the stairs. It was a little after six now, and the day was darkening. With my coat on to beat the night chill and sneakers on my feet, I began my trek down to La Push. It was a lengthy walk, but I used the time to mentally prepare myself for what I was walking into. I knew Jacob would probably be caught between being happy and miserable to see me. And all I was going to do was make him more miserable with what I had to say.

But it didn't matter: I had to see Jacob, and we had to talk. Or better yet, I had to talk: whether or not Jacob was going to listen was entirely up to him. At this point, I didn't care for anything he had to say anymore. He was just going to hear me out and deal, even if it killed him.

When I arrived at the Black home, it had already gotten dark. Billy answered the front door with a shocked expression: "Bella?" he said in a gasp.

"Billy," I replied nonchalantly, not really caring for one of the instigators of my plight. "I need to speak with Jacob, is he here?"

"Yes, he's–" a strange look crossed over Billy's face as his sentence broke. "Would you wait a second here? Let me just make sure he's in."

Billy turned away from me and went back into the house, closing the door behind him. I waited outside with my arms folded. It took almost fifteen minutes for Jacob to finally come to the door. His expression was hard, dark eyes piercing.

"You," he growled.

"Me," I said with an eye roll. "We need to talk, Jacob."

Jacob let out a harsh laugh. "You know, every time you say those words, I find myself even more furious with you than before."

"Well be prepared to get furious, because you're not going to like what I have to say," I told him in a hard tone.

He glared at me, but I ignored it. "Jacob, I know all about the pact between you and the Cullens. And I just wanted you to know that I think you holding onto the pact is selfish and irrational of you. You and both know that I doesn't have to be that way."

"What do you care?" Jacob challenged.

"When you first told me about the Cullens being vampires, and you talked about you and your pack being prepared should they fuck up. What exactly does 'being prepared' entail?"

"What does it matter–?"

"Because as far as I'm concerned Jacob, I think what you should be prepared to do, is to throw out this whole pact thing if you want to keep me as a friend."

"You haven't called me in–"

"You're about to lose everything Jacob, if you don't come to your fucking senses soon. I'm giving you a chance to make things right, even though Edward thinks I should just give up on your dumb ass."

"Bella, what the fuck are you talking about!" Jacob finally yelled at me.

There was a moment of silence after his outburst. I waited for his chest to stop heaving, before speaking in a calm, even voice. "I've decided to become one of them Jacob," I said. "I've decided to join their coven and become a vampire."

Jacob growled so viciously at me, before letting out a loud angry howl. I didn't even flinch. "Yell and scream all you want Jacob," I told him. "There's nothing you can do to stop me. I've already made up my mind."

"He's poisoned you!" Jacob yelled at me. "His whole family! They've all poisoned you!"

"Nobody's poisoned me. I've come to this decision all by myself, and there's no going back. I don't know what your pact has planned, but it doesn't matter, because you won't stop me anyway. There's no stopping me now, and when I become a newborn vampire: there will be no stopping me."

I turned away from him, leaving him to shake and convulse in his anger. I knew he wasn't going to listen, but I had to say what I needed to say. I was going home, and the following day I was going to start making preparations with Edward.

But I had only taken a few steps away from Jacob's house when I felt myself being lifted off the ground. I completely lost my bearings: having no idea how I was suddenly moving so fast, darting between trees in a thick forest and not hitting anything. For a moment I was transported back to times when I rode with Edward, curled against his chest while he dashed from point to point. But I wasn't moving with Edward's grace – this felt much more…animalistic.

And then it came to me.

I was flung over Jacob's shoulder, and he was running.

"Let me go!" I screamed, beating my fists on his back. "What the fuck is this Jacob! Put me the fuck down!"

"This is the only way to save you Bella," Jacob said between breaths. "I've run out of all options. This is the only way to make things better."

"What the fuck are you talking about Jacob! Put me down! Put me down!"

"I don't have any other choice," Jacob said emptily. "There are no other options."

And then it came to me a second time.

I was being kidnapped.

Fierce tears began to pour down my face instantly. "Jacob, what are you doing? Don't do this, take me home."

"We are going home."

"Stop this Jacob…please."

"Be quiet Bella. Don't make things any harder than they already are."

His voice had taken on a dangerous quality that left me silent. I didn't say anything else as Jacob continued to take us deeper in the wood, left to wonder to myself how everything could have got this wrong.

_**Edward**_

It was almost nine and I still hadn't heard from Bella. When we left Starbucks, she told me she was going to lie down and get some rest. I figured if it turned out that she was going to go to sleep for the rest of the night, she would have called me before she did so. But I had been hours since I had last heard from her, and as the minutes ticked on, there was still nothing.

Normally I would have been okay about this, and figured that maybe she had fallen into a REM cycle without realizing and therefore didn't get to call me before. But I had called her countless times for the past two hours, and Bella never kept her phone on silent, so I figured by now – if she was sleeping – she would have woken up to the ringing.

But there was still nothing.

And maybe I was just overacting to everything, but I couldn't help but get a bad feeling about this lack of communication. The last thing Bella and I spoke about was Jacob, and how he was coming between us. I could practically see the wheels in her head turning, without having to hear her thoughts. Nine times out of ten, I didn't put it past her to have gone to see Jacob.

…Which was fine and understandable in essence, her wanting to see Jacob. And I could even understand why she wouldn't want to tell me that she was going to see Jacob, because I wouldn't have been very supportive of that decision. So she probably just went off to see Jacob and told me something else to avoid an argument.

But even after all that rationalizing, I couldn't ease the racing of my mind. Even if Bella didn't want me to know that she was going to see Jacob, that doesn't make her incapable to pick up the phone and contact me. And it had been hours since I had last heard from her – she had to know that I was worrying about her.

Something was wrong. I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. Something was very, very wrong.

I was lying on my bed, lost in my thought, when finally Alice came bursting into my room – her face was covered with worry.

"Bella," was all she said, and I sprung out of bed and got on my feet.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I don't know," Alice said, her voice shaking. "I keep having these visions…."

She didn't have to say much else: suddenly my mind was riddled with everything she was thinking: Bella being pulled off into indistinguishable wood, Bella sitting alone on the forest floor. There seemed to be someone with her in a few of the visions, but the blur on the person made it impossible to decide who it was.

At the same time, the blur made it all the more clearer.

"It's a wolf," Alice said quietly. "You know I can never see the wolves as clearly as I can see anyone else."

"Jacob," I growled, just before throwing an angry fist into the wall. "It only makes sense," I added in a harsh whisper. Then I turned back to Alice. "Where is he taking her?"

"I don't know Eddie," Alice said, her face contorted. "He keeps on the move: every time I think I know, something changes and then I have no idea. I can't locate her at all."

I couldn't control the rage trying to consume me. I lunged out at Alice, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her into the wall. "What do you mean you can't locate her Alice?" I bellowed.

"Eddie, stop," Alice said, trying to shift out of my grasp. "I'm sorry. I can't."

"How long have you just been lying in your room trying to locate her? Why didn't you come to me when you had your first vision? Don't you realize that Bella could be in serious dangerous right now?"

"Edward, I know! Just put me down!"

I hadn't even realized that I had been continuously handling Alice so roughly, and I had indeed lifted her three feet of the floor. I put her down slowly, and then walked away from her, kicking the books I had strewn on the floor as I did.

"Edward!"  
I was walking towards the window, ignoring Alice.

"Edward, where are you going!"

"To find the love of my life obviously," I growled at Alice. "Since you've been such a big fucking help."

"Edward," Alice said, her expression crestfallen. "If I could do something about it–"

"If you really want to do something, you'd stop talking and let me go. Because all this conversation is doing to me right now is wasting my fucking time."

I looked out the window, but suddenly I couldn't move. Even with Alice's visions still fresh in my mind, I had no idea where to begin. Even as I mentally searched for a trace of Jacob's thought, I couldn't come up with anything clear then either. It seemed as if, somehow, he had successfully managed to make then damn near undetectable.

_They've covered a lot of ground, _I rationalized. _He's taken her so far already that she's out of my hands._

I kept staring in the darkness, wishing that a shadow of Bella would appear out of my window. But I couldn't find her – not mentally, and without that aspect, not physically either.

"Edward," Alice said quietly. "We could all go look for her. We could round up the family, and have a big search for her. Jacob cares about Bella – he's not going to hurt her."

"That damn mutt doesn't give a fuck about her!" I screamed. "Who knows what the fuck he's capable of! And he has _my _Bella out there!"

"He's not going to hurt her," Alice said quietly.

Another vision of Alice's suddenly came to mind, where the blurry figure seemed to be trying to comfort Bella, though she showed no sign of wanting anything from it. Her expression was heartbroken, and she was gazing off into the wilderness the same way I was now.

_Bella._

"You guys start tomorrow," I told Alice. "Whenever you get the chance to. But I can't just stay here without trying to find her. I have to find her. Keep me updated on anything you pick up: I'll be about."

"But if you get too far–" but I gave her a silencing look.

"You can't expect me to sit here and do nothing," I told her darkly.

She nodded at me. "No, I can't." She touched my shoulder. "Be safe, Eddie."

"I'm a vampire," I said. "I don't really have anything to worry about."

I jumped out of the window and ran, heading to Bella's house first. Charlie didn't seem the least bit fazed about Bella's absence when I arrived. In fact, he calmly told me that Billy had called the house not too long ago and had said that Jacob and Bella went on an impromptu camping trip, and should be back soon. I tried to keep my own emotions on a low as I asked to go to Bella's bedroom – to pick up a school book she had borrowed from me.

All pretense of course – I went to pick up Bella's favorite scarf. Even though I knew her scent inside and out, it wouldn't hurt to have something of hers on me. I left Charlie's as quietly as I came, before taking off running.

I didn't know where I was going.

I didn't know where to start.

Bella's scent was impossible to pick up.

Jacob's thoughts were undetectable.

But I couldn't stop running.

I had to find her, somehow.

* * *

**I'm hoping to round out this story in another two or three chapters, then I might take a long (deserved) rest from fics:: it just takes a lot of time and energy and dedication, that I just don't think I have as much as I used to. At least, not right now.... but certainly at a later date or something like that =)**

**Reviews are always aprpeciated. Will try to update soon.**

**--Brin--**


	13. Chapter 12, When It All Falls Apart

**So this is my first crossover to someone else's POV. It just felt better flowing from someone else's eyes, though I'm pretty sure after this, I'll be returning to Bella and Edward. That said, I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you all enjoy reading it.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing about Twilight is mine.**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve, When It All Falls Apart (Jacob's Side)**

_**Jacob**_

Bella wouldn't talk to me – she would just sit in a corner and look depressed. How I wanted to do something to cheer her up: hold her in my arms, stroke her hair, tell her that everything would be alright…anything to get this miserable expression of hers off her face.

The only problem was, the one thing she wanted me to do, I couldn't.

"Take me home, Jacob," she said coldly to me the second night we had been on the run.

"We can't go back now," I told her. "We're already here. We might as well try to make things work while we're out here."

"And what exactly is that Jacob?" she snapped. "What exactly did you want to make work, that you had to carry me out into the middle of nowhere?"

"You know what I'm talking about," I said quietly.

She scoffed, and turned her head back to the darkness. "Yeah, right," she murmured.

Since that moment, Bella hadn't said anything to me. It was our fourth night on the run: I left Bella alone in the woods momentarily to use the nearest pay phone to call my dad and have him cover for Bella's absence for me. He was in complete agreement with my reasons for taking off: that cleansing Bella of whatever vampire poison she had been corrupted of was a major priority. He told me not to worry – to take my time even – and he would hold down the fort, and have Sam in charge of the pack while I was gone.

I had been contemplating this arrangement for a while now. I knew that Bella's relationship with Edward could not continue for a moment longer – she was changing right before my eyes, and I had to do something before it was too late. I even kept a bag of necessities packed and ready by the door for when I was ready to put the plan in motion. But it wasn't until I heard her say those words – "I've decided to become a vampire" – that I knew that I was truly running out of time.

I had to make her understand the dangers of what she was getting herself into. She was too swept up in vampire hypnosis to realize the gravity of things.

I had to convince her to remain the Bella I know and love, instead of the supper of that fucking monster.

I was running out of time.

Bella wouldn't speak to me, but she had long realized that there was no point in leaving me. I had made a point to only travel by night, making it harder for her to decipher exactly where we were going, and during the day, we were already so deep in the thicket that there was nowhere for her to go.

This wasn't the way I wanted things to pan out, but I couldn't change things now – we were too far in. Tonight would be our final night of movement, before we could finally come to rest in one spot. Truly, we had only been circling our resting spot a couple of times – I did this to throw off the bloodsuckers. I knew that if I kept on my feet long enough, it would confuse the Cullens to give me more time with Bella.

And all I needed was time.

Once the night fell, Bella reluctantly climbed on my back before I took off for a final time. She held me tightly around my neck, as if she wanted to choke me, but I didn't take much notice of it – she wasn't strong enough to hurt me anyway. I just kept my focus on our final destination.

We were going to the top of the mountains. I had spent a lot of time recently atop these mountains, thinking about how everything with Bella had gone so haywire. I had thought – I had been so sure – that if I revealed to Bella the true nature of the Cullens, it would be enough to pull her away from him. But instead, she was more succumbed to the fucker's poisonous schemes.

And then for her to want to _become _one of them?

I felt like killing the bloodsucker for that alone.

When we reached the particular cave I had spent many a night, I let Bella down. As soon as her feet were on the floor, she shoved me hard and walked away ferociously to the furthest corner of cave.

"Bella," I called to her, but she said nothing. "Bella, come on. Are you still not talking to me?"

She glared at me in a way that read: obviously.

I sighed in defeat: I had figured that after a while Bella would feel compelled to say something to me – that humanly nature to speak would finally overpower her. But she had been quite content to stay silent for the past two nights, and clearly she wasn't prepared to say anything yet either.

But I could wait.

I had to.

"I'm gonna get something we can burn, to keep you warm," I told her. "And then I'll make us something to eat."

I had said that last part tentatively, because along with being on speaking-strike, Bella had taken up a hunger strike following our last vocal interaction. I had carried a numerous amount of instant meals in my backpack, but Bella wouldn't touch any of them. She simply turned away from me and curled up, presumably, to sleep.

But I hardly needed sleep.

And I could hear her sobbing quietly to herself each and every time she pretended to be.

Fuck, it hurt so much for things to have to be this way. I hated to listen to Bella cry to herself, and to know that she would never cry in front of me anymore. I hated that she was being so bottled up towards me, when there was a time when she sought me out whenever she needed to talk. And to know that this time was not so long ago, and that the fault of this change was that of my mortal enemy's….

I grabbed a couple of stray branches and brought them back to our resting spot. Bella was leaning against a cave wall with her head tucked slightly down on her chest and her eyes closed. I wondered if she was really asleep, or if now she had taken up yet another strike against me. I started stirring a pack of instant noodles anyway.

But the silence was eating at me.

"You awake Bells?" I called from over my shoulder – my back was facing her.

I received no verbal response, but I heard her shifting behind me – coming onto her feet. I turned just in time to see her walking towards the cave exit.

"Where are you going?" I asked her.

She fixed me with a glare, one I couldn't place, before continuing on her way out.

I abandoned the noodles and raced to catch her, grabbing onto her wrist firmly. "Why don't you cut all this silent shit out Bells? It's not very productive for you, or for me. And as you can see, I'm making you something to eat, so it doesn't make any sense for you to leave right now. And where would you go? You have no idea where you are."

Bella just pushed me in response, her expression livid. "Fuck Bella!" I growled, my temper taking control of me. "Fucking say something. _Anything!_"

"Fuck you Jacob Black! You sick, sadistic, fucked-up son of a bitch!" She seethed at me.

Inside, I sighed with relief. Words, even if they were ugly, were still words.

"Listen," I said in a calmer tone. "You and I both know it doesn't have to be this way–"

"Fuck you," she spat.

"This could be good for you, good for both of us. We can talk up here. No one is going to find us up here."

"I'm done talking to you Jacob. I'm fucking done with you, if you haven't noticed."

"Well you might as well talk to me anyway," I told her. "Because I'm never taking you back to that fucking bloodsucker until I know that you're done with _him._"

"I'm in love with him Jacob," Bella said in a clear, angry tone. "I will never be done with him. And if you won't take me back, I'll find my own fucking way there."

"You're prepared to wander around in a forest, filled with danger, with no idea of which way to go, for fucking Edward Cullen?"

"Did I stutter that first time?"

I ripped myself away from her and took two steps back – I was so angry. "That's exactly what I'm talking about Bella! This freak has clouded your better judgment – you're willing to put yourself in danger for someone who just wants to feed on your body. I bet that fucking asshole was the one who put you up to becoming…." I couldn't finish the thought.

Bella gave me a defiant smirk. "That was actually my idea, if you must know. Edward had nothing to do with it. In actually, he didn't support the thought of me wanting to end my life."

The words surprised me. "He didn't want you to become a vampire?"

"Nope," Bella said. "But it isn't his decision, it's mine."

I mulled for a moment. This certainly didn't make things any better – Bella had been contaminated so far that she was making this destructive decisions all by herself. But at the same time, the fact that the bloodsucker was _against _the very decision….

….No, he was still just as much to blame for all of this. If he had just left my Bella alone in the first place, none of this would have even come to her impressionable mind. And then none of this would have had to happen.

Bella was standing at the mouth of the cave with her arms folded, but in the next moment she was heading back out into the night again.

"You can't just leave!" I roared at her.

"Why not Jacob!" She screamed at me. "I have legs. I _can _just leave if I fucking _want _to!"

"We haven't even talked yet."

"Are you confused you stupid fucking mutt?" She snapped. "I don't want to talk to you! I'm done trying to talk to you! I don't give a fuck about whatever you have to say because I am fucking _done _with you. Got it?"

Her words were ripping me into shreds, but I had to fight through my pain. "At least have something to eat before you leave," I said, trying to coax her into staying for a little while longer.

"I don't want any of your guilt food," she replied. "When I get back to Forks, I'm going to report you to my father and make sure that you get charged for kidnapping."

"Bella–"

"And then following that, I'm going to find Edward – the one guy who cares about me – and he's going to change me and then we're going to live happily ever after."

"You don't want that!" I yelled at her. "You can't possibly want that!"

"You don't know anything about what I want! You don't know shit!"

"No, Bella: _you _don't know shit. He's not going to change you, he's going to fucking _kill _you!"

"You. Don't. Know. Shit!"

The noodles began to burn.

*

Bella waited for me to cook up a new pot of noodles – she was clearly hungrier than she was willing to let on. I cooked noodles for myself as Bella slowly ate the bowl I had given her. She had gone back to not speaking to me – it had been a long three hours.

"I liked you better when you were yelling at me," I said to her finally. As usual, I was met with silence. I continued on slowly, hoping to provoke her into conversation: "At least when you were yelling, I knew what you were thinking."

She made a snorting noise, but still remained stone silent – even the way she slurped her noodles was deathly quiet.

I let out a small, singular laugh. "At least I got you to eat something, right?"

"Shut the fuck up Jacob," she hissed.

I was silent at her request, focusing on stirring my noodles. Once they were done, I ate them out of the pot – Bella had the only bowl I had brought along.

"Do you remember the first time you had ramen noodles?" I asked her quietly, after some silence had passed.

Bella didn't reply right away: her expression had gone from stone cold anger to somewhat sad. As she stirred the contents of her bowl, she finally said, in a quiet voice, "Yeah."

"You were in Forks for one of your many summer visits," I started slowly. "I had been visiting you at Charlie's and we were both starving. Charlie didn't have any money for pizza so he told us to come up with something in the kitchen. And all that was in the cupboards was–"

"–beef ramen noodles," she finished quietly. She laughed a little, and the sound made me smile. "We didn't even know how to cook it correctly. We were just so hungry that we ripped open the packet and ate them as is."

"Between you and me, I sometimes still eat them uncooked," I told her. "It's almost like chips."

"Except not," Bella said with an eye roll, but the gesture didn't contain the usual malice I had been getting from her recently.

We sat quietly after that exchange, but for once, I didn't feel like she was quietly hating me. I certainly didn't think that all was better now, but it was nice to have her upgrade from disgust to content. I pushed on slowly with conversation.

"You know Bella, I miss you," I told her softly. "Every time I wanted to pick up the phone and call you, I didn't know what to say. Somehow I felt like tell you that I missed you wouldn't be enough."

"You would have been right," Bella replied quietly. "It wouldn't have been enough."

I sighed. "All I want to do is make things right between us, and keep you safe."

"I'm not in any danger."

I let out a low snort. "That's an understatement."

Bella sighed. "You just don't understand."

"I understand more that you do," I said in a raised voice.

She looked at me, the fierce anger back in her eyes. "Actually you don't understand. And what makes it worse is that you don't _want _to fucking understand."

She tossed her bowl, still half full with food, and then stood up. "Bella, wait, I'm sorry!" I said quickly before she could walk away from me.

She went over to my bag and pulled out a large T-shirt I recognized as one of my own. "Is there some body of water around her that I can rinse myself in? I feel dirty, and I haven't had a real shower in days – thanks to you."

"Uh, yeah," I said slowly. "Um, yeah, there's a spring a couple of feet down." She nodded once before turning away. I couldn't help myself, and I called to her: "You'll come back won't you? You're coming back, right?"

She stopped, and looked at me over her shoulder. "Yeah, I'll be right back."

And she was – twenty minutes later, her hair damp and looking fresher. But she still looked incredibly frustrated with me, so I didn't say anything to her immediately. We must have sat around for another hour in silence before Bella spoke.

"I don't know what your plan was for taking me out here, but it's safe to say that it's not working," she said. "I think it's time you take me back home. If you do it right now, I won't even press the charges against you that you so rightly deserve."

I sighed. "How can you just let things be this way?"

"How can I let things be this way?" Bella said in an angry chirp. "If you want to blame someone, you should blame yourself."

"How could you say that?"

"Jacob, I've been trying to talk you for weeks," she said. "Every time I came to see you, even four nights ago, it was to come and talk to you. All I've wanted to do was talk to you, but all you do is yell and scream and behave stubbornly. So I'm done trying to explain things to you, and I'm done trying to get you to understand."

"I could say the same thing about you," I said. "You refuse to try to understand where I'm coming from."

Bella rolled her eyes at me, but I pressed on anyway. "You never had to hear your family tell you about the dangers of vampires, you were never formally warned about the evils they possess. All you have to go off is dumb fantasy fiction novels, but I learned about the real thing. I learned and saw firsthand about how your particular coven massacred innocent people just to feed themselves. I may have been not much older than six, but I was old enough to learn what was good and what was bad. And my father never allowed me to forget it.'

"And when I finally became to new pack leader, I now had several other young wolves to look after. Wolves who were looking up to me for guidance and protection from our sworn enemies. And with my father's stern words still ringing in my ears, and now leading the pack, the last thing I needed was for any fuck-ups on my part. When I found out you were meddling with the Cullens, I wanted to protect you. I told you about their nature, hoping that you would pull away from them. Hoping that you'd understand how dangerous they were on your own. But you didn't."

"They're not what you think they are Jacob," Bella said softly.

"Bella, one of their own murdered innocent people!"

"It was an accident," she replied weakly. "Jasper isn't like that anymore."

"That's what they all say."

"Jake," Bella said quietly, and instantly, my heart warmed. I hadn't heard Bella call me 'Jake' in what felt like forever. "Even if you don't trust them, you trust me, don't you?"

I couldn't answer her, but I knew that she could feel that I did trust her immensely. She continued as if I had answered. "If you do trust me, then you need to trust the decisions I'm making. I wouldn't do anything that I wasn't sure of, or that I thought was going to hurt me in the end."

"But becoming one of them–"

"Jacob, I love Edward," she said simply. "And I want to be with him forever."

"But if you become one of them Bella, our relationship would be finished. I could never speak to you or see you again. You'd become just like them: an enemy to my kind."

"They aren't like other vampires, Jacob," Bella replied. "They don't feed off of human blood. And I understand that you were there while Jasper was struggling with his thirst, but none of them are like that anymore. You need to forgive and forget."

I sat quietly for a moment, mulling over her words. "But my father," I said finally. "He would never forgive me for letting you do this to yourself. He was the one that suggested that I take you away like this, and get you to see straight. And my pack, for them to know that I was once best friends with the recent addition to the Cullen coven? They would never let me live it down."

"Jake, you're their leader."

"Exactly," I said. "You have no idea the pressures that I'm under right now. Just because you think you love this freak."

"I know I love him," she said quietly. She placed her hand on my shoulder and stroked in gently with her thumb. "You're right Jake, I didn't understand. I didn't know what you were going up against. And I wish I could take it all away. But the only person who can do that is you."

I glanced up at her, and her expression was one of kindness. "You're the leader – the Alpha. The pack looks up to you and respects your decisions. If you decided that the war between the wolves and the vampires could come to an end, they would respect your choice."

"No they wouldn't–"

"Yes they would," she insisted. "If I guess right in saying that Quil, and Embry, and Seth are all a part of the pack, well, those are some of your best friends Jake. And you're right, they do look up to you. But not for you to follow in your father's outdated footsteps – but for you to be yourself, and to lead the pack they way you wanted to."

She touched the side of my face ever so gently, and I leaned into her palm. "Jake," she said sweetly. "You're my best friend. Even with all that's been going on between us right now, I've never stopped missing you, and I've never stopped wanting to make things better between us. Even when I was so, so, so mad at you – I still missed you." She paused for a moment, and then added. "I don't want to lose you, just because I want to become a vampire."

"You're so sure about that, aren't you?" I asked her.

"Yes Jake, I'm sure," Bella replied. "I've been sure for a while now. And I'm not going to change my mind. But I still don't want to lose you."

"You wouldn't have to if you just forget about this vampire thing," I said, pulling away from her forcefully.

"I can't just forget about it, Jake," Bella said. "I'm in love with him, and he's in love with me. We want to be together, and this is the one way to make it work forever."

I buried my face in my palms. This was so frustrating. "I just want things to go back to the way it was before you met him," I murmured.

"Well I don't," Bella said carefully. "He makes me so happy Jake. He makes me happier than anyone else I know."

I already knew this. I could see just how much it was eating her inside to be away from him, and I already knew what she was like when she was around him. "I want you to be happy Bella," I told her. "I don't want to come between you and your happiness anymore."

Bella's eyes were shiny with tears as she leaned forward and threw her arms around me for a warm hug. "You make me happy too Jake. I love you just as much as I love him. It's just a different kind a love. But it's still a love that I don't want to have to lose. I don't want our relationship to have to diminish the way it has been just because of some outdated and irrelevant pact."

I put my arms around Bella, enjoying the feeling of her being so close to me, and realizing just how long it had been since I held her like this. "I don't want to lose you either Bella," I told her. "I'll do something. I'll figure something out."

I ran my fingers through her hair and rest my head atop hers. I didn't want this to be the last time I had to hold Bella – but I was going to keep her as close as possible just in case it was the last time.

*

I woke up with Bella in my arms and her hair around my nose. In all honesty, it did smell a little dirty. As I pulled away from her to sit up, Bella awoke from my movements as well. She glanced up at me, her face tentative.

"We're going home today," I told her. "I think we've done all we can out here."

I was about to stand up, but her hand on mine stopped me. "I just want to tell you Jake," she began, "is that even though I'm upset that it had to come down to this for us to talk, I am glad that we did finally talk. Even if it doesn't change things, at least we understand each other a little better, right?"

I nodded, giving her a small smile. "Right."

I packed us up quickly before pulling Bella back on my back. I took her straight to the one place I knew where she would want to be right now – the Cullen house. By the time we had finally reached Cullen property, I could sense activity going on inside the house. I was only a couple of feet away from the door when it flew open and Edward came rushing out. Before I could completely register what for, Bella was off of my back and off in Edward's arms.

_Damn, I didn't know he was that fucking fast._

I turned around to see Edward holding Bella so close, it almost appeared as he wanted to fuse her into his body. His forehead was pressed against hers, and his hand was on her cheek, stroking her face. I'm pretty sure that if he could cry, he would be doing so right at that moment.

"I'm okay, Edward," Bella was telling him in a soft voice. "I'm fine."

"I missed you so fucking much," he said. "I was worried out of my fucking mind. I didn't know what to do with myself, I….You promise you're okay? Nothing is wrong? Cause we could have Carlisle look over you and–"

"I'm fine," she assured him. She pulled him closer to her, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm fine."

Edward returned her embrace, his hands caressing her back. It was becoming too much for me to watch: I had brought Bella back, now it was time for me to go.

Bella finally broke away from Edward and walked back over to me. Her eyes were filled with so much emotion that it was hard to even keep her gaze. Gently, she reached for my hands and laced them with hers. I relished on the warmth of her palm, knowing there would be a time when it would be no longer there.

"It's too soon Bella," I told her. "Don't ask anything of me yet, because it's just too soon."

Bella nodded understandingly, giving my hands a squeeze. "You'll always be my best friend," she said. "I'll never stop loving you, and you'll always be my best friend."

She took a step further and we hugged tightly. "Just don't kidnap me next time, okay?" she murmured.

I laughed. "Can do."

We released each other, just as the rest of the coven appeared at the front door. Two females came running down towards Bella, concern laced in their expression. I could only recognize one of them – the pixie. "Bella, thank god, sweetheart, you're alright," said the other vampire.

"I'm fine, Esme," Bella said to her. "Just a little dirty, but that's all."

"Well, let's get you freshened up," The pixie said, before leading Bella back towards the house.

Now just Edward and I were left standing on the lawn. Edward still seemed to be composing himself, as if he was still in disbelief that Bella had just been in his arms. It was then I noticed the darkness of his irises, the slight appearance of bruising under his eyes. I knew enough about vampire lore that this was a sign of not feeding. And I realized that Edward had been so consumed with worry that he hadn't fed…I could easily picture him tearing through the area, desperately, searching for any glimpse of Bella.

"I'm sorry to have put you through this," I said to him, and I meant the words.

Edward looked at me, not with the malice I deserved, but with appreciation. "Thank you Jacob, for bring her back," he said.

"She loves you," I replied.

"I love her."

"I know that now," I said quietly. I approached him slowly. "You better take care of her," I warned. "If you do anything to hurt her–"

"I couldn't, even if I wanted to," Edward said to me.

I damned myself for shaking the way I was, but it hurt so fucking much. I felt like I was giving up a piece of me that I wasn't ready to part with yet.

"I would never keep you from Bella," Edward was saying, as if reading my mind. "I understand how much she cares about you and how much you care about her. I would never try to come between that relationship."

"And I will never try to come between you two again either," I said. "And because of that, I can't stay here any longer."

Edward nodded once, with understanding. Afterwards, I took off, phasing effortlessly into my wolf form and making distance between myself and the Cullen home. I raced to the very cave I had just left, needing, again, time to think.

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**Reviews are well received and appreciated.**

**I finally have the free time I need, so I'm trying to churn out these last few chapters. In my head, I see two more chapters with a possibility of an epilogue:: just to keep you all in the know.**

**Until my next update!**

**--Brin--**


	14. Chapter 13, Island Esme

**Mature content warning. I hope you all enjoy this chapter:: I loved writing this one. Undoubtedly, this one and the previous were my favorite to write thus far. You know when everything just starts falling into place? That's what this chapter is about, and I loved it all the more for it. So yeah... I hope you all enjoy =)**

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**Chapter Thirteen, Island Esme**

_**Bella**_

On Edward's request, I went home to Charlie's, but only to make appearances with my father. He made it perfectly clear that he had spent a long painful few days without me, and now he needed me all to himself for a while.

"If Jacob can take you away for days on end, so can I," Edward was saying.

"What about my school work?" I asked, realizing now just how much I had to have missed.

Edward waved it off. "Jazz was taking care of mine while I was out looking for you, and Rose was taking of yours. I'm sure they can handle doing that for a couple more days."

"What do you mean 'taking care' of it?" I asked, somewhat wary.

"Rose has mastered your handwriting perfectly. And we simply couldn't have you fall behind and then you repeat this grade." He touched my face affectionately at this point. "I have plans for us beyond graduation."

I smiled at the sentiment, but it was hard to imagine Rosalie doing anything _good _for me. "Are you sure she's helping me pass?"

Edward nodded. "She could probably take your grade to amazing heights considering the amount of times we've been through the high school system, but we thought that might draw too much attention to you. So she's just been maintaining your steady grade point average."

_Good to know._

When I got home, Charlie was sitting at the dining table, reading the daily paper. He didn't seem any at all worried about the fact that I had been missing for five days. Whatever Billy was telling him to cover for my absence must have been pretty damn convincing.

An angry vein pulsated in me at the thought of Billy Black. Never had I been more disgusted with anyone before. True, I never quite liked him the first place, but I certainly held no affection for him now. No parent should pressure their kid the way he was putting a hold on Jacob. To think that half of the drama between Jake and I had come from that man was enough to put me over the edge.

But I tried not to think about it too much. Jake and I had finally had a long needed conversation, and while I couldn't say for sure what was going to come out of it, at least everything that needed to be said, had been said. Everything else would just have to come in stride.

"Hey Dad," I called to him.

Charlie looked up from his newspaper and smiled at me. "Bells, hey. Did you have fun with Jacob?"

I laughed. "I wouldn't exactly call it 'fun', but it was interesting."

"Did you two get a chance to settle your differences?"

I nodded. "That much we did do, Dad."

"Well I'm glad to hear it," Charlie said with a grin. "Be sure to give Edward a call. He came here every night since you were gone, wondering if you were back yet. I figure he was mighty worried about you taking off the way you did."

I smiled on the inside. "I spoke to him," I said. "In fact, he wants me to take away for a little while."

Charlie frowned slightly. "What about your schoolwork?"

"Don't worry," I said. "Edward has been keeping up on that for me, and he promised to continue to do so while we're gone."

Immediately, Charlie's frown melted away. "Do you know where you're going?"

"Surprise he says," I replied.

Charlie nodded, his expression thoughtful for a second. Then he said, "You know Bella, I really like Edward. He's a good kid, and he cares about you tenfold. And I guess that's what every father wants in his daughter's boyfriend – a man that loves his daughter as much as he does."

"Dad, are you getting sappy?" I teased.

Charlie blushed at my words, but he continued on, "I just wanted to let you know how I was felt. After these few days while you were out with Jacob, I saw just how much Edward does care about you. And I like that for you." He paused for a moment. "I like him for you," he added with some finality.

The words meant a lot to me, and I had to blink back some tears of emotion. "Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate that."

Charlie nodded, and then gave me a stern point. "Make sure you're still being safe. The last thing we need is an accident around here, and you know what I mean."

I felt my entire face flush. "Oh Dad, please."

Charlie gave me a wink, before turning back to his newspaper. I rushed up the stairs to my bedroom. I had showered, washed my hair and been clothed while I was still at the Cullens', but I changed into my own clothing before collapsing on my bed, choosing an simple green haltered summer dress. The mattress was so soft, such a welcome change from forest floors and cave walls. I almost forgot why I had come back to my room in the first place – certain that it couldn't have been for anything else than sleep.

Except even as I curled up on my bed, my mind wandered to Edward, which prompted me to get back to the task at hand.

Edward wouldn't tell me anything except that we were going somewhere warm, even though I did my best job at begging for another hint. I packed all my Phoenix clothes in a small suitcase, and tossed in my one swimsuit just in case we'd be near a beach.

I was excited to be "somewhere warm" with Edward – it had been so long since I had been in the sun, and Edward looked beautiful in the light. Plus: I was going to be with Edward – that alone was enough to leave me all smiles. I just wondered where we were going: if Edward glinted the way he did in the sun, how could we possibly go somewhere warm without anyone noticing the shimmering speckles in his skin?

I didn't dwell on the thought too much though: I knew Edward would pull it off somehow, and I was just excited for what the outcome would be.

Once I was packed with clothing and toiletries, I went back downstairs. Charlie had moved to the kitchen by now, stirring a pot of food.

I chuckled a little. "My dad, cooking," I teased.

"Yes well, I had to learn a little something while you were gone," Charlie said with a laugh.

"Well, I should be back in a couple of days," I said with a shrug.

"Make sure you're keeping up with your school work Bella," Charlie said warningly. "This is your last year at high school, one the most important years in your educational career."

"Don't worry, Dad," I said. "I promise that it's under control." _At least, Edward says it's under control, and I trust him._

"Okay, well then have fun."

"And be safe right?" I asked, poking fun.

"And always be safe," Charlie said with a grin.

I gave Charlie a quick hug before heading towards the door. Edward was already parked outside, leaning against the car door. He looked up at the sound of my front door closing and rushed over to me quickly to take my suitcase from me. As he put it in the backseat, I went towards the passenger door to climb inside. Again, Edward was at my side in a flash, opening the door for me and helping me in.

"I'm still functional you know Edward," I said jokingly.

His expression was serious as he stooped down. "I know," he said touching my knee affectionately. "I just…I'm just so happy that you're here."

"So you missed me, huh?" I teased.

He frowned. "Don't play with me Bella."

I picked up the sternness of his tone and shrunk away slightly. "Sorry," I said. I guess it was too soon to be making jokes.

Edward's hard expression remained for another nanosecond before it melted into the crooked smile that I adored. He leaned forward slightly and pressed his lips against mine, very sweet and innocently. I sighed through my nose and titled my head into his. He nibbled at my bottom lips just before pulling away, and I found myself sighing for the second time.

"What was that for?" I asked softly.

"Because I love you," he replied, gently tucking my hair behind my ear and caressing the side of my face.

I blushed with glee as he walked around to the other side of the car and got in. The engine came to life in a soft purr, and we pulled away from my house.

"So where are we going?" I asked once we were on the highway.

"It's still a surprise," he said.

"A warm surprise?"

"A very warm surprise," he added with a grin.

I wasn't surprised when we pulled up to an airport – certainly to get somewhere warm meant leaving Forks. But I was surprised when I realized it wasn't the national airport, but a private hangar. Just how much money _did _the Cullens have?

Edward talked to a couple of important officials while I waited behind him with my pulley suitcase in hand. Finally we were lead to a sleek and beautiful jet plane that was even more beautiful and sleek on the inside. Plush seats and sophisticated interior in a formal beige color. He packed our suitcases away in the luggage compartments while I got comfy in one of the seats.

Edward slipped into the seat next to me and took my hand. "It's going to be a long flight," he told me. "A solid couple of hours. You might want to get some rest."

I was too pent up with excitement to rest. I was in a luxury plane, flying to some distant tropical land, with the love of my life. I turned towards Edward and slipped an arm around his neck, pulling him down into a soft kiss. He returned my advance with one of his own, easing my lips open with his tongue as his hand came to rest on my thigh. Our tongues danced effortlessly, my body tingling every time they touched one another. There was an armrest between us, and I was trying to pull Edward closer to me, it was becoming a little too apparent and in the way.

"Let's move this," I suggested softly, lifting the arm rest.

"Feeling frisky, aren't we?" Edward teased.

"Don't tease me Edward," I said, grabbing onto shirt to pull him on top of me, my legs parting easily to accommodate him.

He kissed me heavily, his hands inching their way up the skirt of my dress. I put my hands to work as well, reaching down to undo the button of his jeans and pull the zipper. Underneath the material of his boxers, I could feel his member throbbing. My body shivered with anticipation as Edward's hands closed around my own underwear and pulled it down.

His kiss dropped from my mouth to my neck as his fingers worked on my flesh. I squirmed and moaned, my eyes fluttering closed and my breathing heavy, tickled with the sensations of Edward's tongue on my neck and one of his fingers beginning to dart in and out of my body. I worked my hips against his finger, and then he slipped another finger inside me. With his free hand, he reached towards the back of my dress and undid the tie. With my breasts now exposed, Edward's mouth moved further down to my right breast, tongue flicking over the nipple, while his fingers continued to work.

I gasped at his contact with my breast, and several moans left me as his sucking on my breasts got harder. I bit my bottom lip and rocked my hips even harder into his quick thrusting fingers, pushing myself closer to my approaching orgasm. My body shook, and the walls of my pussy clenched around his fingers.

So close. "Edward," I breathed. So fucking close. "Jesus, Edward."

My orgasm was explosive, and I wailed with satisfaction. Edward covered my noise with a deep kiss, pulling his fingers out of me slowly before putting his hands on my dress and pulling it off me completely. I watched, completely naked and lying in post-orgasmic bliss, as he removed his shirt and dragged off his jeans. His member, strong and proud, stood at perfect attention, a small bead of precum already dabbing the tip of his head.

I lurched myself forward and put the head of his shaft into my mouth, sucking on that beautiful bead before taking as much of his rod in my mouth as I could. Edward let out a primal groan, and I heard him fiddling with a wrapper as I moved my head back and forth on his shaft, tightening my mouth as much as possible. Soon, he pulled himself from my mouth and made me lie back down, rolling a condom on as he did.

My head came down on the other armrest, and he placed his hands on either side of my head, grabbing tightly onto the armrest. With incredible ease, I could feel him dipping in between my womanly folds, filling me completely. I moaned as he pushed his way inside me with slow certainty, until every inch of him was in my body.

"God, Edward," I said in a breathless moan.

"Jesus," Edward whispered. "I missed everything about you. I missed you so much."

The plane was taking off, but I was hardly aware if my ears were beginning to pop with the climbing altitude. Edward began pumping in and out of me at a slow sure pace, as if each entry inside me was the first time, a new exploration of my body. My back arched and my hands reached grabbed hold of his wrists, my breathing becoming heavy all over again. Edward continued his slowly easing in and out of my body, pleasing my body while tantalizing me at the same time. I wanted so desperately for him to become relentless, but I wanted all the same for us to continue like this forever.

Edward let out a low groan, which prompted me to look up at him. The electricity in the connection of our eyes was enough to make me explode again on the spot. My body squeezed, which made Edward's eyes roll back and a fierce moan escaped my throat. My body buckled with a climax, but I was hardly given a chance to recover. Edward removed a hand from the armrest to lift my leg up to his shoulder. Holding tightly onto it, he began pumping faster into me, making my body shake again.

"Edward," I moaned desperately. "Edward, Christ, Edward."

"Bella," he groaned, still thrusting into me. "My one true love."

"God, I love you," I murmured as my back arched again. "I love you so much."

"And I love you," he whispered, "so much."

His thrusting had taken on the fierceness I had been hoping for, and my body squeezed around him to welcome it. Edward's hold on my lifted leg was strong, and he brought his other hand around it as well, leaving me to grasp desperately at the chair and the armrest and whatever else I could get fingers on. Edward watched me possessively, drinking in my body with a passion that was setting me on fire. I rocked my hips against him as he continued to pound feverishly into my body, lips parting in desperate moans and erotic calls of Edward's name. We rocked in perfect time with one another, meeting each other's stroke perfectly and passionately, until we both climaxed simultaneously with amazing satisfaction. We were both left gasping for air, eyes locked on one another. The emotion in Edward's eyes was enough to bring me to tears. And as he came down towards me, resting his head on my chest, I brought my hand to his hair, pulling my fingers through it affectionately, I wondered at how things could possibly feel any better than this.

_**Edward**_

I watched as Bella slept, curled up in the beige chairs with a blanket I had thrown over her to cover her nakedness. Her expression was so tranquil, yet so happy, that if it were possible, it would have been enough to bring my dead heart back to life. And yet, I felt incredibly alive each every time I was with Bella, as if this dead heart was beating strongly. I watched her sleep: she sighed every once in a while and murmured my name, bringing a smile to my face. I gently stroked her rich chestnut hair and pulled it away from her face. She let out another 'Edward' murmur as she moved around again in the chair to make herself comfortable. I finally pulled myself away from her and headed to another seat, looking out of the window. We seemed to be nearing Island Esme – my little surprise for Bella. About another hour or so I gathered. I reclined in the seat and ran a hand over my hair.

This was going to be perfect – it had to be perfect.

Those five days without Bella proved to be the hardest five days of my life. I couldn't think, couldn't feed, couldn't do anything but run. From the night that I had jumped out the window, I made no qualms about going back home. Even as Alice tried to contact me as I tore through all of Forks, I couldn't make a point to reply. The only thing on my mind was Bella – where was she? Was she okay? What had that dirty fucking mutt done to her? Disastrous scene after disastrous scene entered my mind: Bella lying cold in the middle of the forest, Bella surrounded by a murderous pack of wolves, Bella wandering lost, crying, calling for me, wondering why I don't come rescue her from the horrible situation she was in.

I wanted to. I didn't feed, even though I was basically dying of thirst. Every delectable animal that I came across went practically unnoticed, with my mind completely focused on Bella. Alice tried to remind me to feed, that I wouldn't be at my best if I was only working at half-tank. But she went ignored, even though she was probably right. I couldn't think straight, couldn't function, not without knowing for sure that Bella would be okay.

Bella….

I even left the state of Washington on my search, wondering if maybe the mutt had covered more ground. I couldn't understand why I couldn't hear his thoughts, and wondered if there were more pockets – like my meadow – where all thoughts could be blocked. I traveled down to Oregon, covered California, went east through Nevada and Utah before trying to circle back towards Washington.

Where was my Bella?

Where the fuck was my Bella?

It wasn't until the fifth day when I was retracing my steps in Washington, when I got Alice's vision of Jacob bringing her back. I was fully prepared to cut the fucking mutt off and murder him on the spot, but Alice begged me to come home: _she and Jacob have talked, and things are peaceful between them. She's fine Edward, she just wants to see you without any confrontation._

I wanted anything Bella wanted, so I returned home and waited patiently for her arrival, posted at window. Once I finally saw them coming, I raced out to meet them. Or rather, meet Bella. She looked frail and underfed, but I was too moved by her presence to worry about those things. I had never been so glad to see someone _alive _before. I pulled her as close to me as I could without breaking her, unable to control my emotions. My eyes burned, as if I wanted to cry – I knew if I could I would be. I was just so fucking happy that she was alright, that she was here in my arms again.

"I never want to be without you again," I whispered in her ear as we held each other.

I had to thank Jacob, even though a few minutes ago I was fully prepared to rip him into thin strips. I was just so happy to have Bella with me again, that it didn't matter that she had been delivered in the hands of the perpetrator. And I knew, as much as I wished it wasn't so, that Jacob meant a great deal to Bella. And whatever was important to my Bella, was officially important to me.

Including her transformation.

I never wanted to be without Bella again.

And soon, hopefully, I wouldn't have to.

*

When we arrived at Island Esme, Bella was in complete awe. I had forgotten just how beautiful this place was, the sky tinted a gorgeous orange with the sun, the greenery of the palm trees against the light brown of the sand and the dark blue waters lapping against the beach. I took her to the villa Carlisle and I had built here long ago, tucked away behind a few of the trees.

"This place is lovely," she said in awe, as we entered the villa.

"Hopefully this won't be our last time here," I whispered.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked playfully.

"That will have to wait, my dearest," I said with a wink, gently pinching her cheek.

Bella rolled her eyes, but her apparent glee made warm all over. We settled into the bedroom before changing into swimwear. I tried to hide my thorough appreciation for Bella's hot pink bikini, keeping my back to her until I could calm my growing erection. We headed down to the beach, hand in hand, before I lifted Bella off her feet and threw her into the warm ocean water. She went under with a loud laugh, and I dove under to met her. We played and splashed and tousled in the water for hours, and even had some sexy underwater kissing done, until we were all tired out. Or at least, until she was all tuckered out, and night had finally fallen.

Once we were back inside the villa, I went to take a shower after Bella turned down my offer of going first. I let myself refocus as I stood under the hot spray. Things had started perfectly, and I already felt that there would be no perfect time than right now to take things to the next level.

"Edward?"

Bella's soft voice entered my head, and I turned around just in time to see Bella stepping into the shower, completely nude. I had seen Bella naked countless times by now, but the sight never ceased to satisfy me. Her figure was flawless and her curves were just right for her frame. The sight was also more than enough to turn me on.

"I thought I could wash your back for you," she said in a suggestive tone, her face red with blush.

I lifted her off the floor and instinctively her legs wrapped around my waist. "Did you now?" I replied with a grin. "Just wash my back?"

"And maybe other things," she said in a whisper, and I knew she could feel my member pressing against her warm flesh.

I pressed her against the shower wall. "I like other things," I told her just before slipping easily inside her.

She let out a long, beautiful moan as her hands clawed into my shoulders, and replied, "Me too."

_**Bella**_

I woke up in the king-sized bed, a smile on my face. The last couple of events replayed sweetly in my mind: the quick sexual encounter in the shower, the shift from the shower to the bedroom. Edward's hands, Edward's lips, Edward's…I knew I was blushing when my mind went there. No matter how many times we would lie together, I don't think I could ever really get over the fact that I was making love with someone who I was _actually _in love with. I had heard enough horror stories from people who were having sex with people that they hardly cared about: only doing it to get off. I was being loved by someone who loved me and whom I loved. Things didn't really get better than that.

Dawn seemed to be coming in through the window, and I supposed I slept longer than I thought. I could make out Edward's silhouette over by the dresser.

"I wish, just once, that I could wake up before you," I said playfully.

"You know I don't sleep," he said, his tone matching mine.

"I know, but do you think you could pretend, so that I can get up before you?"

He smiled at me, that adorable crooked smile. I watched as he slipped something in his pocket before saying, "You wanna take a walk?"

I sat up, my body awake all over again. I was certain about what Edward had slipped into his pocket, and the warmth coming to life between my legs was more than ready. "Okay," I said slowly. "We can take a walk."

He grinned at me, walking over to help me out of bed and waiting patiently while I changed into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

It was beautiful outside, the sky lightening slowly with the dawn and the ocean waves peacefully breaking on the sand. We rolled up our pants and walked along the water's edge, holding hands as we did.

"You know, I'm happiest when I'm with you," Edward said quietly.

"I know the feeling," I replied.

"When Jacob took you away, I had never been more scared," he paused. "I was terrified that I was going to lose the one person that really matter in my entire existence. The last person I had ever loved the way I loved you was my mother. When Carlisle had transformed me, only to tell me that he was too late for her…." Edward's voice trailed off, and I could see the pain etched in his face.

I walked around to step in front of him, putting my hands on his shoulders. "You will never have to worry about losing me Edward," I told him. "You'll always have me."

"I know," he said quietly. "I'll always have you…if you let me."

With the waves still rushing up onto our feet, I watched as Edward lowered before me, down onto one knee. Immediately, my heart started pounding away rapidly, so loud that it was in my ears. I wasn't even sure if I was still breathing, as I watched Edward's hand go back into the pocket he had slipped something in just before we left. It wasn't a condom, as I had expected, but a small box – a ring box.

"Bella," his voice was low and hoarse. He opened the box and a beautiful square cut diamond ring sat in the center of the silk-lain interior. "I don't ever want to be without you again. I want to love you, and only you, for as long as I possibly can and in the best way I possibly can. You're my perfect match, my other half, and my existence would be incomplete without you."

"Edward," I let out in a breath. Tears were streaming from my eyes and my hands covered my mouth.

"Bella." He looked up at me, golden eyes filled with emotion. "Will you marry me?"

I had been nodded furiously since he said my name, but now, once the question was out, I said repeatedly, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

He rose from the sand and lifted me off the ground, twirling me around as I locked my arms around his neck. We kissed, we squeezed, we held each other as tightly as possible. I couldn't believe how in love I was this man. I couldn't believe how in love he was with me. I couldn't believe that we were going to get married.

"Right after graduation," he whispered to me, as he put me back down. "In the backyard: Alice will design the whole thing the way you want it to look. It will be beautiful, perfect, only the best for my only love."

I smiled brightly. "I don't care where it happens so long as you're the one waiting for me at the aisle."

He kissed me again, slowly and passionately, before taking the ring out of the box and slipping it onto the designated finger. It glinted in the rising sun. I couldn't stop the tears of joy from flowing, still in a state of blissful disbelief.

Somehow, things had become even more perfect.

"I love you Edward Cullen,"

"And I love you," Edward replied with a smile. "Bella Cullen."

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**Always grateful and appreciative for reviews!**

**--Brin--**


	15. Chapter 14, Importance Of Conversation

**I will admit...I felt a way about this chapter, which is why I decided to post it with the previous chapter. I mean, I like this chapter, but at the same time....ehhhh, I don't know. It might just be because those last two chapters for me were just SO GOOD. Anyway, point is, you have two chapters to read:: that makes it cool right? And I did like how this chapter ended, so that's good right? Enough from me, I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight, no es mio (AKA, not mine)**

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**Chapter Fourteen, The Importance Of Conversation**

_**Edward**_

We didn't return to Forks immediately, but spent a couple of more days lazing around on the beach and basking in the sunlight and acting like premature honeymooners. Bella definitely wanted to come back here for our actual honeymoon, and I was more than willing to oblige. We made another pit stop before coming back to Forks – a day long layover in New York City, where I had bought Bella's ring, and now allowed Bella to pick out the pair that we would exchange on our wedding day. The woman behind the counter of the Tiffany's gushed at how adorable we were as a couple, and that while she had seen this very activity take place many a time at her counter, we were the first whose love for each other seemed to be radiating throughout the whole room. She gave us the rings half off for that reason alone, although I insisted to pay full price.

While we were flying back to Forks, Bella spent the entire ride curled up against me in a deep sleep. I loved how comfortable she was against me, even while her skin broke out randomly in goosebumps from being next to my cold body. I held a blanket around us to keep her warm. I could feel the warm breath of her every exhale against my neck, and she had one around my waist that absently stroked my side.

"I love you so much," I whispered in her hair.

And I truly did. It was blew my mind to think that there was once a point when I was pushing this girl away from me, especially since now I couldn't imagine having to spend another moment without her. She completed me more than Alice could have foreseen, made me happier more than Alice could have foretold. Bella was my everything, and there were no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Bella ended up sleeping for most our flight, but I made a point to close my eyes just as I felt her beginning to wake. My false dozing was clearly enough to please her, because I heard her giggling after a moment.

"My lovely Edward is fast asleep, is he?" I heard her tease. I felt soft kisses against my temple, cheek and neck. I tried to keep my face blank, but she was arousing me in the simplest of ways. "When does my lovely Edward _ever _sleep?" Her fingers walked their way slowly up my arm to the side of my face. "When does he ever sleep?" she added in a whisper just as she suckled gently on my neck.

A groan left my throat at that action, which made Bella spring back up. I tried to calm my facial muscles again, but now I was on the verge of laughter. Bella's soft giggles did not make it any better.

"Come on Eddie," Bella teased. "I've caught you: you're awake."

I let out a soft laugh. "No I'm not," I whispered. "I'm fast asleep."

"Well another body part of yours seems to be wide and long awake," Bella said, just as her hand rested comfortably on my quite erect shaft.

"Morning wood," I said, but after that, my composure disintegrated and I burst into uncontrollable laughter. Thankfully, Bella joined in with her own giggles. I managed to steel myself before her, and caught a glimpse of her face crinkled beautiful in glee.

"I really was asleep you know," I told her as I put my arms around her.

"No you weren't," Bella said, climbing easily into my lap. "But I appreciate the sentiment."

She pressed her lips against mine softly, and easily we delved into a more intimate kiss. My hands slipped under her shirt and crept up her back slowly. I slowly undid the clasp of her bra, then broke our kiss long enough to remove both the bra and her top. She giggled softly, before leaning closer to me again. The softness of her bare breasts on my skin was enough to awaken my cock. It pressed against her center, and she let out a blissful sigh at the contact.

"I do love this in-flight fun," she whispered against my lips just before we started kissing again.

Her fingers worked my jeans zipper, and the release instantly eased the tightening that was growing there. She reached in and grasped onto my throbbing member, rolling her hand up and down. My head went back and I exhaled heavily, surprised at just how good her motions felt. I could feel her lips against my neck, tongue dancing on my flesh, while her hand continued to pump up and down.

"Fuck," I growled.

I reached to undo her jeans as well, and she released my shaft long enough to slip out of them. I smiled at her as she wiggled her hips slowly to get out of them, taking down her panties with them as well. When she came back into my lap, I had already rolled on a condom and she eased herself onto me, allowing me to fill her completely. We both took harsh breaths with the entry, her hands going to my shoulders and mine going to her waist. As she eased down on me a second time, Bella's eyes fluttered closed and she bit the corner of her bottom lip.

Everything about her was so fucking hot to me.

She moved slowly, up and down on my shaft, slowly driving me insane. I pulled her closer to me so that I could put my mouth on her breast, sucking gently on her left nipple. Bella moaned as I sweetly nursed from her, and started gyrating in small circles on my cock. I held on tightly to her waist, my hands reaching around to grab some of her plump ass. Soon she begun riding me again, thrusting down hard on me.

"You feel so damn good Bella," I murmured.

She gave me a sexy grin. "You feel pretty fucking awesome yourself, Mr. Cullen."

I slammed her down even harder on me, keeping my firm grip on her waist. Her head fell back and loud, erotic sounds left her open mouth. I fluidly kept her moving up and down, and groaned as I felt her walls clenching around my member. I loved when she did that: loved the warmth of being inside her, loved the slickness and wetness of her flesh. Everything about Bella's body was enough to make me explode on the spot. But I bit my lip and held it together for her. I wanted to please her so much more than to please myself.

She hissed and moaned and I felt her first orgasm coming. I rode her faster on me and arched my thumb down to rub her clit. I felt her spasm instantly at my touch, which only prompted me to worked her harder. She was gasping for air, moaning my name it the most beautiful of sounds. When she tightened around me again and that primal sound left her throat, I knew that she had reached her first climax.

I worked her to have many more orgasms. I began thrusting into her from beneath as I continued to pull her down on me. I could feel Bella's hips moving along with my motions, heightening the pleasure for both of us. We moved in passionate fluidity, both moaning and groaning in perfect harmony, until I felt Bella's clenching around me was too much to bear. I pounded forcefully into her, pushing myself to my own personal brink.

Everything about Bella felt so fucking good, and I could even feel myself shivering as I continued to thrust into her. Bella dug her fingers deep into my skin, her sexy noises of satisfaction simply adding to my own pleasure, until I felt my cock twitch and had an explosive release. I pulled down on me, then held her as close to me as possible, burying my nose in the crook of her neck. I could feel Bella's nose in the same area on my body, and as we continued to hold each other, I felt moisture on my skin.

"Sweetie," I whispered, "why are you crying?"

I heard the quietest sniffle, then a sweet laugh. "I'm just happy that I get to be here with you. And that I get to be like this forever with you."

I squeezed her tightly. "Yes, my love, yes you can."

*

We returned to Forks to the welcoming arms of my family. Alice and Jasper picked us up at the airport, looking apologetic at first because she had foreseen my proposal and already leaked it to the entire family. But all Bella did in response to that was laugh and pull Alice close into a hug while Jazz and I exchanged a firm handshake. Alice and Bella couldn't stop talking as we drove back to the house, but the sound of their easy conversation just made me smile. Bella was already so assimilated in my family – our union was just making everything official.

When we arrived at the house, Esme was the next one to embrace Bella. Emmett practically lifted me off the ground when I stepped into the house, cheering wildly while pumped me up and down.

"Could you put me down please?" I begged while Bella looked on and giggled.

"We're just so happy for the two of you," Esme said, her arms still around Bella. She gave Bella a soft kiss on her forehead, which made Bella blush. "Have you guys thought of where you're going to have the wedding?"

"You have to have it in the backyard!" Alice chimed. "It will be perfect back here."

"I agree," Bella said with a smile.

Emmett finally put me down, then gave me a playful nudge. "That trip to Island Esme really came through for you huh, bro?"

I rolled my eyes, and Esme glared. "Really Emmett, must everything you say be so crass?"

"Are you guys going to have an engagement announcement party?" Jasper asked conversationally.

I hadn't really thought about it, but Alice immediately jumped on the bandwagon. "That's a fabulous idea, Jazz!" she said just before giving him a kiss. "We'll need to have it very soon, next week maybe? I'm pretty sure I can get this place ready in a week. Oh, and Bella, we'll have to go shopping for a party dress!"

"Actually, Al, I'll take Bella shopping."

The voice came from the staircase, and Rosalie was coming down slowly. She was obviously less excited than everyone else, but she certainly didn't have the perpetual pout she wore when anything 'Bella-related' came up. She walked over to Bella and I saw her put in the effort to smile.

"It should be fun," she said quietly.

Bella looked uncomfortable, but nodded gratefully anyway. "Should be," she echoed in a soft voice.

"Well just make sure that _I _get to be there when we choose the wedding dress," Alice said. "Oh! Can I be a bridesmaid, please?"

"Of course you're a bridesmaid, don't be silly!" Bella said, becoming animated again.

"Edward."

I heard Carlisle's stern voice amidst the whirlwind of excitement Alice was creating. I walked over to where he was standing. He was smiling at me, and had his hand stretched out for a shake. I took it firmly.

"I'm so happy for you, son," he said to me.

"Thank you," I paused, "Dad."

"Have you and Bella had anymore conversation about her being changed?"

My demeanor faltered a bit, but I kept my poise. "We haven't."

"But you've been thinking about it." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I have," I stopped for a moment. "I'm considering that it should be done following the wedding, so that her family and friends can spend time with her on the special day."

Carlisle nodded, clearly agreeing with this. "And are you prepared to do the change yourself?"

I glanced down for a moment – this was the one thing that had been bothering the most. Surely I wanted to be the one to change Bella, but I knew that the transformation was a tender thing – that too much blood intake will result in her death. And I already knew that I was tempted by her blood already.

"Do you think it would be dangerous for me to do it?" I asked, seeking his advice.

"I think that if it came down to you, you'd know when to stop," Carlisle said slowly. "But as I have told you, I would be more than prepared to take on the task for you. I just wanted to remind you of that fact."

"Thank you, Dad," I said.

He smiled again. "You should know that we're all so happy for you."

I nodded. "I know that, and I greatly appreciate it."

"Well," Carlisle said. "Allow me not to keep you any longer from your fiancée."

At that moment, I felt a warm hand slide into mine. I turned around to see Bella smiling up at me. "Let's walk me back home, instead of drive," she whispered.

"Of course," I replied.

"Don't you worry about this engagement party at all Bella," Alice said as we headed to the door. "I've got the whole thing figured out in my head already. You two just try to keep this thing under wraps until Saturday, yeah?"

"Yes ma'am," Bella teased just before we went out the door.

_**Bella**_

"Should I be worried about Rosalie?" I asked Edward as we walked hand in hand, away from the Cullen residence.

"Why would you be worried?" he asked back.

"Because she's spent the majority of our relationship despising me. And I know you said that she was keeping up with my schoolwork for me, and I appreciate her all the more for that, but still–"

"Don't be too hard on Rose," he said, giving my hand a squeeze. "I mean, I know her behavior completely deserves it, but it's really not her fault. She's just complicated at best, but she really does care for you as much as the rest of my family does. Trust me at that. I would take her request for shopping as an extent of friendship from her."

I nodded. "If you say so."

He lifted the hand he had been holding and pressed his lips against it. "I love you, you know."

I grinned. "I know."

The night air was surprisingly warm in my hair, and I heard Edward let out a low growl as it blew around my head slightly. I glanced up at him, realizing for the first time that his eyes were a dark color, with only slight hint of gold in it.

He gave me a reassuring smile. "You just smell better and better all the time."

"When was the last time you fed?" I asked him, immediately concerned.

"Oh I'm fine," Edward said, waving me off. "I know I may look hungry, but I've got everything under control."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, sweetheart." He stroked the side of my face with his free hand. "But if you want, I'll make sure to hunt right after I drop you off."

"And then come back to me?"

"And then I'll come back," he added with a smile.

A long silence passed between us. I knew what I wanted to talk to him about – what I really wanted to discuss, why I had really suggested that we walk instead of drive. I took a deep breath and whispered "Is it hard?"

He patted his jeans zipper and chuckled. "Not right now."

I pulled my hand from his to give him a forceful push. "Edward! I was not talking about that!"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," he said, holding his hands up in defense.

I giggled, then rephrased myself. "I meant, is it hard…not drinking human blood?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Where did that come from?"

"Well, we were kinda talking about it," I said shyly.

His expression was thoughtful for a moment, and we walked for a few more minutes in silence. Then, finally, he said, "It's never been quite hard for me: when I was changed, Carlisle had already taken this 'vegetarian' lifestyle if you will, so I never really had a chance to get addicted to human blood. Though I will admit, your scent makes it quite tempting." He laughed a little to himself at this point. "But," he said continuing, "I know how hard it was for Jasper when he decided to take on our lifestyle. I suppose it's harder if you switch to this lifestyle, as opposed to living by it forever."

"Do you think it will be hard for you to change me?" I asked quietly.

Edward went silent again, but this one felt uncomfortable. I wondered if maybe Edward had changed his mind about changing me, now that I had already agreed to marry him. I was fully prepared to argue in my defense if it came to that, but instead, he spoke in a soft voice.

"It will be very hard," he murmured. "I wondered if maybe we should have Carlisle do it instead of me. He's had more experience with this, and he's certainly not infatuated with your blood like I am."

I considered his words carefully. It made sense of course, but somehow, I couldn't picture myself being changed by anyone but Edward. I know I had suggested Carlisle, even Alice, at one point, but I only did it as a ruse. If I had to end my life, I wanted only one person to do it.

"Edward," I said in a sure tone, stepping in front of him so that we were face to face. "I know the risks that we stand if you chance me over Carlisle, but I want you to do. I trust you immensely. I know it may be hard for you, and if you're absolutely sure that you wouldn't be able to do it, then I would consent to Carlisle. But I you should know that I believe in you, and that I know you could do it just as efficiently as Carlisle. I trust and believe in you."

Edward smiled at me, taking my face gently in his hands. "You always seem to know what to say sometimes," he whispered.

"Well, it helps when you don't jump into my mind and find the jumbled thoughts first," I said teasingly.

He kissed me softly before we continued on our way.

"Where will go after the wedding?" I asked.

"Island Esme," Edward answered. "I thought that was already decided."

"No, I mean, after I'm changed," I said, correcting myself.

Edward hesitated. "You're not changing your mind about that are you?"

I frowned. "Are you?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm not either. I've already told you, I want to spend the rest of my existence with you. It would have to come to this at some point." He sighed. "I guess it matters how immediate you wanted this change to be."

"Immediate," I said forcefully.

"Alaska," Edward responded. "We have a house out there. Lots of animals for you to practice hunting on, and for you to become adjusted to the lifestyle. And where the house is, there's hardly any humans around, so no temptation either."

I couldn't pretend that I was excited about the thought of Alaska. "We could spend a few days at Island Esme though, right?"

"So not an immediate change then," Edward teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, not _immediate, _immediate."

He swept me off the ground and held me close. "I love you so much," he whispered.

"I love you too, Edward."

"Thank you for coming into my life."

"Thank you for keeping me in it," I murmured.

*

Everyone wanted to know why I had been so long absent from school. I conjured up some illness that required long bed rest, and avoiding any of the more groping questions. Alice had already started handing out invitations for a party that Saturday, and kept giving me the single finger on the mouth 'keep quiet' gesture. I wasn't actually bursting to tell anyone at school, and would have felt better just getting married quietly without everyone else knowing. But Alice was already on a rampage, and it seemed too late to stop her.

Rosalie had done very good with my schoolwork, and even gone so far as to raise a couple of my grades, though on slightly. We had made plans to go shopping the Wednesday before the party, and I made a mental note to myself to thank her.

I couldn't lie and say I wasn't nervous for our outing. I didn't even know what to say to Rosalie, much less spend time picking out dresses with her. Edward said I should take this a good sign, but I still felt wary. When Wednesday finally came around and I found myself waiting by Rosalie's sleek red BMW, I could barely control my heartbeat.

When I spotted her coming towards her car, I realized – though not for the first time – just how beautiful she was. Her long blond hair glided behind her with every step, and her eyes – a flawless gold state – shone with inner light. Her body was in perfect proportion, only accented further by her low rise jeans and slim fitting tank top. Even the way she walked, the graceful stride, the sway of her hips: she was like art. I wondered if I could really become this beautiful after my own transformation – the possibility seemed unfathomable.

"You ready to go?" Rosalie asked me, her tone already curt.

"Um, yeah," I said uncertainly.

Rose swept passed me easily and got in her car. I rushed in after her and Rosalie pulled off quickly. She drove faster than Edward, if that was even possible. And she managed to that and still look feminine and gorgeous.

"You have a nice figure," she said to me suddenly. "This should be quick and simple."

I couldn't tell if she was actually complimenting me, because her tone was still so hard and unfriendly. I just remained quiet while she drove. When we finally pulled up to a dress shop, I could have started shivering from how cold it was in the car. Suddenly, this whole thing seemed more than just 'a bad idea'.

We got out of the car and walked towards the shop. Male eyes followed Rosalie every step she took: I felt practically invisible. She seemed unaware of it, holding the door open for me to let me in before her, then going in after.

"Were you thinking a particular color?" Rosalie asked.

I turned around to face her, and she raised her eyebrow at me. "You know you didn't have to do this. Alice could have taken me."

"I know," she replied.

"So why–"

"Look Bella, I know we started off on the wrong foot," Rosalie said. "And I certain can't promise that we'll ever be as close as you and Alice." _Well at least she was being up front about things. _"But I've come to understand why I didn't like you, and I realized it really wasn't my place to feel that way."

There was a pause, and I finally asked, "What?"

"I couldn't understand how you could just give up your humanity the way you're planning to," she said after a sigh. "I knew, from the get go, once you and Edward got involved, that it was going to come down to this. And I felt that that was unfair to you: for you to have to die to be with someone else."

"Edward isn't just someone to me, Rosalie," I started to explain. "He's everything to me."

"I know that _now,_" Rosalie said in an obvious tone. "I just didn't understand it at first. I suppose when I met Emmett, he was already dying, so I didn't feel like I was killing him for him to be with me. It just…was. But for your situation–"

"It isn't that different."

"You're _alive_, Bella," she said in that obvious tone again.

"Without Edward, I might as well die," I explained. Then I added, "As cliché as that may sound."

Rose let out a laughing snort. "So long as you know it's cliché."

I laughed following that, and surprisingly enough Rose joined in. Once we quieted down, Rose's expression was less stern. "You make my brother really happy," she said. "That's when I realized I couldn't stay this way towards you. You make Edward happier than he's ever been in all the decades I've been with him. And he deserves happiness just as much as the rest of us. And I'm glad that you want to give it to him, even if it means sacrificing your life."

"It doesn't feel like a sacrifice to me, Rosalie," I told her. "It just feels right. This is what we both need, what's good for the two of us. It's meant to be this way, and we're both happier for it."

Rosalie smiled. "You can call me Rose, you know."

I couldn't suppressed the wide smile coming to my face. "Rose."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't get all excited. I'm not completely behind this or something now you know. Let's just get this dress."

I nodded, taking things in stride. "Okay, let's get a dress."

* * *

**I liked that last part between Rose and Bella...that's what I was referring to up top. Anyway, review please, I appreciate it!**

**This story is almost done! I'm actually working on the final chapter right now, and then the epilogue. It always feels so nice to be coming to an end of a fic, cause it's so nice the way things come together, you know?**

**Hopefully the update will come very shortly (Alice looks into the future, and says this is so, tee hee)**

**--Brin--**


	16. Chapter 15, Big Day

**WARNING! THIS CHAPTER IS LONG. I MEAN.....LONG! I mean, this was a twenty-pager, lots of effort, LONG chapter. But, I hope that despite the length, you can all enjoy it anyway, and appreciate it regardless. Also, it's the final chapter! We're at the end of this fic, and at the end of this adventure! yay! so read and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight wasn't mine at the beginning of this, and Twilight still isn't mind at the end of this**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen, Big Day**

_**Edward**_

"We're waiting to pick up Renee from the airport, and then we're coming straight there," Bella was telling me over the phone.

"Sounds good," I said with a smile.

I couldn't wait to see her – it was Saturday evening and other guests were beginning to arrive at the house. I was surprised to see a couple of vampires from friendly covens hovering about. All vegetarian vampires of course, mixing easily with the humans already present. Tanya had her golden eyes on me, but she was the furthest thing from my mind.

"Did you want to come with us while we pick her up?" Bella asked me timidly.

"You know I wanted to, but Alice is making me hold down the fort here," I told her. "We have a couple of vampire friends here too, so we're all acting as security if you will."

"No one dangerous right?" The alarm in her voice was evident.

"No, but it's still precautionary."

I imagined Bella nodding due to the silence on the other line. Then she said in the softest whisper, "I'm really nervous about tonight Edward."

"You're not the only one nervous, trust me," I said with a heavy sigh. Alice always needed to go all out with everything. And while I didn't mind announcing our engagement with a boom, I didn't need the extra 'boom' and a follow up 'pow' if you get my drift. "I can do all the talking if you want," I added, in hopes to ease her nerves.

"Yeah," she said, but her voice sounded absent.

I yearned to see her face, read her expression. "Let's talk more when you get here. In private." I assumed her whispering was because Charlie was lurking around. "How does that sound?"

"Perfect," Bella replied, sounding better already. "I'll see you in a bit."

We hung up, and I took a deep breath. When I turned around, Tanya was standing there, a curious yet seductive look in her eye.

"Nervous for what, pray tell?" she asked slowly.

I gave her a smile. "You'll just have to wait for that, won't you?"

She touched her strawberry blonde hair shyly, and then surveyed the room. "I knew something serious had to be up when I arrived here and found humans littering the area. Alice must be planning something bigger than just a 'get together among friends',"

"Again," I said sternly, "you'll have to wait for that."

"Not even a little sneak peek for me?" She said, touching my arm suggestively.

I glanced up and down at Tanya. She looked sexy as always, since she just happened to exude that naturally, wearing a tight strapless red dress that stopped mid-thigh and hugged every curve she had to offer. All the boys in the room weren't trying to hide the fact about their open staring. In fact, the only ones not staring was Jasper, who was running around behind Alice, and Emmett, whom Rosalie was giving the death glare anytime he tried to take a peek.

And yet, even though she was easily the most desirable thing in the room, I was hardly fazed by her advances. I had never really been interested in Tanya romantically in the first place, but I wasn't even more so now, more than satisfied with the girl I had.

"Sorry, no sneak peeks," I said, gently removing her hand.

She pouted playfully at me, but then shook her hair sexily and regained her confident stance. "I'll never understand you, Edward Cullen. You must be the only man I know who can act so immune to my charms."

"How easily you forget about Jasper," I reminded her, as Jasper didn't see any other woman beside Alice in that light.

She nodded with a soft laugh. "True, true. I should rephrase then: you're immune to my advances."

I nodded. "Now that makes more sense."

She laughed again, then took a step closer. "It always made me curious as to _why _though."

I shrugged. "You are beautiful of course Tanya, and as sexy as you want to be, but," My mind went back to Bella, remembering her face when I proposed to her: the tears of joy streaming down her pretty face framed by deep dark hair, "my heart belongs to someone else."

She rose an eyebrow at me, and then took a step back. "So it's another girl."

"Yes," I admitted finally. "But you aren't getting anything else but that."

Her expression had become somewhat crestfallen at my words, but her eyes lit up at my final statement. "So this party is _about _the girl?" she said in a giggle. "Well doesn't that just bring the excitement back into things?"

I laughed at her return to the optimistic: it was one thing we could all expect from Tanya. "Enjoy the party, we'll talk later." I said casually, patting her shoulder before walking away.

I heard the sound of a whimsical sigh coming from her, but I didn't turn around. Alice bounced over to me, concern in her eyes.

"What did Tanya want?"

"What does Tanya always want?" I said in an unconcerned shrug.

"When is Bella getting here?"

"She's picking up her mother, and then they should be coming this way," I told her. "Maybe another hour or so."

"Are you excited?" Alice chirped. "Look at how well I got this place to look. Your 'you-know-what' is going to be even bigger and better."

"Thanks again Al. I do appreciate it, even though it's a little over the top."

"It's not _that _over the top!" Alice whined. "I haven't even begun to go over the top. You want over the top? You just wait till after graduation!"

I gave her a weak smile, but somehow she was just making me more nervous. "I'm gonna step outside."

"Okay, but as soon as Bella comes, you come right back in and make the announcement. Because everyone is starting to get jittery about what's really going on here."

I nodded before heading out our sliding back door. As I looked around our massive backyard, pictures of my dream wedding started flashing before my eyes. Thousands of flowers, white carpet to lay out the aisle, white chairs set up on either side. And my beautiful Bella, face veiled, holding her bouquet, coming towards me in slow motion, with a proud Charlie on her arm.

I must have been standing there, fantasizing, longer than I thought I would be, because I felt a warm presence come up behind me, and the scent alone made me identify who it was without turning around. When I did come to look at Bella, I first took in just how beautiful she looked. Her hair was half-pulled back with the rest lying on her shoulders. The dress was black, fitted and thin-strapped, with a small v-neck cut and stopping right above her knees.

"I knew Rosalie only had your best interests at heart," I said teasingly.

She blushed, before taking a step closer to me. "When you're right, you're right," she whispered.

We kissed once, then once more, before Bella put her arms around me and rested her head on my chest. "I'm really nervous, Edward," she said quietly.

"We don't have to do this if you don't want to," I told her. If need be, I would tell Alice to come up with some other reason for the party. And she really only needed to convince the non-human guests, since everyone else took it as a regular party.

"It's not that." She pulled back so that I could see her face. "I'm just nervous about what everyone might think."

"About us getting married right out of high school?" I had gone through the high school system enough times to know that people who got married right out of high school we're either expecting a third member of the family, or running away from parents, or something equally scandalous.

She nodded. "Charlie and Renee got married right out of high school too. It was when Mom had me that she left him. I'm just afraid of what they're going to say about this whole thing."

I breathed a sigh of relief. So it wasn't what out classmates thought, just her parents. Well, that was understandable. "They love you Bella. They'll understand."

"And what if they don't?"

I struggled with an answer. "It's whatever you'll want to do following that," I finally said. "I'm never going to change my mind about marrying you. But I can understand if you wanted to go about things differently."

She touched her hair and looked away from me for a moment. She gave a small nod, but it seemed to have more to do with whatever she was thinking, than for what I had just said. I had never wished more desperately to know what she was thinking.

"A kiss for your thoughts, maybe?" I asked her.

She smiled, which eased the knots trying to form in my stomach. "You can get kisses whenever you want, silly," she replied, giving me a kiss afterwards. Then she sighed. "Okay, let's just do this now than later."

She led us back into the center of the living room, towards the refreshment table. There were poured glasses of champagne, and she picked up one of them along with a fork, tapping the fork against the glass to grab everyone's attention. The room quieted at the clinking sound and turned in our direction.

She put the glass down and reached for my hand. I could feel her trembling. "You all must be wondering why Alice called you here," she said in a clear, albeit shy voice. "It's not as casual of a get together as you probably thought."

Her breathing become staccato, and I gave her a reassuring squeeze. Her eyes closed momentarily, and then she said, "Truth is, we have a bit of news." She licked her lips, stalling for time. I wondered if I should step in and speak now, but then she took a deep breath and a warm smile crossed her face. "We are getting married after graduation."

There were loud gasps at first, but the room finally warmed into congratulatory applause. Bella was still smiling, but I saw a twitch in the corner of her lip. I pulled her close to me, whispering, "Everything is going to be fine," in her ear.

"I know," she replied.

"Everyone is taking it really well," I told her after wafting through a couple of thoughts. "Only the airheads think it's scandalous, like Jessica Stanley, and who cares what people like them think anyway? Everyone else is completely happy for us, just a little surprised is all."

She nodded, but looked hardly at ease. A couple of people began approaching us, shaking our hands and giving their congrats. Bella stayed close to me, her arm around my waist. I felt her grip tightening just as Charlie came towards us. Walking next to him was a woman who looked exactly like Bella, but with shorter hair. Surely this had to be Renee, Bella's mother.

"Bella, dear," Renee said, pulling her daughter from my grasp and into her arms. "I should have known something serious was going on when you told me to come down this weekend." She glanced at me with wide eyes. "I just had no idea _how_ serious." She released Bella and stretched out her hand in my direction. "Well Edward, Bella made a point of telling me just how cute you were. If I were a few years younger and not married off myself–"

"Mom!" Bella turned beet red.

"Let's not forget if I wasn't already marrying your daughter," I added lightly.

"That too," Renee said with a grin.

"Edward, well, I must say that I'm very shocked about all of this," Charlie said gruffly. "Don't you guys think you're rushing into this a bit? What about college?"

"I would never pull Bella from her education," I said assuredly. "We'll take a gap year together maybe, and then following that, we'll return to school."

Charlie snorted, then glanced at Bella. She shrunk away from his gaze, closer into my side. "This isn't anything we really need to discuss, right Bella? There isn't a small issue growing here?"

I could tell what Charlie was getting at, and I was about to say something about it, but Bella spoke up. "No Dad, there's nothing wrong, I promise. We're just in love and we want to get married."

"Kind of like you and I, Charlie," Renee said with a grin.

"Exactly," Charlie said with a growl.

"Well Bella is a lot more mature than we were back then, don't you think Charlie? And Edward is such a gentleman." She turned back to me with a wide smile. "At least, that's what Bella tells me all the time."

"Humph," Charlie folded his arms, but he seemed less stern than before. "Well I suppose if I had to marry my only daughter off to anyone, it would be Edward."

The words warmed me more than I could have imagined. "That means a lot Officer Swan," I said honestly.

A small smile appeared on Charlie's lips. "Well if you're going to become a part of the family, you might as well start calling me Charlie."

I heard Bella's sigh of relief and a warm smile crossed her face. I knew we had finally crossed the worst of this situation, and we came out scar-free. Renee continued to talk animatedly to the both of us about planning the wedding – magically, Alice appeared at our sides as well, getting into it with Renee as well. Carlisle took Charlie aside for them to have, presumably, a father-to-father conversation.

"You okay?" I whispered to Bella.

She nodded, glancing up at me. "Everything is perfect."

_**Bella**_

The few following months after our engagement party seemed to fly by too quickly. Aside from the very few weird looks from a couple of our classmates, no one really gave Edward and me any slack about being engaged – even after I started wearing the ostentatious engagement ring. And for the most part, it didn't really matter if people were looking or whispering, because I was just so happy with Edward that I hardly noticed anything else. Not to mention I was finally able to sit with the Cullen at lunch and have six Cullens happy to see me instead of five – since our shopping excursion, Rosalie was much more pleasant towards me. I wouldn't say we were as sisterly as Alice and I had now grown to be, but she certainly wasn't shooting me death glares anymore, and that was a welcome change.

Still, it seemed like too soon when graduation had finally rolled around. I had maintained a steady A grade for the remained of the year, and was even due to graduate with honors in Biology, though I figured that had a lot to do with having Edward's help in the class. Of course, he and the rest of the family were graduating summa cum laude (and they were only mildly impressed with all of this, considering they had all been graduating summa cum laude for at least fifty years now. I, on the other hand, was still in awe). Nearing the actual day, the school orchestrated many a graduation practice, in which we were allowed to chose whomever we wanted to walk with on the big day. Edward and I initially gravitated towards each other, but Alice playfully cut us off: "You guys are going to walk together on a bigger day that this one. So if you please Edward, keep my Jasper company."

I wasn't upset to be walking with Alice though – if it wasn't going to be Edward, it was obviously going to be her. And I soon found out what the truth was behind her wanting to walk with me – we were organized into lines of two that would split off once we came to seating. This split meant that whomever you were walking with would not end up sitting next to you. However, whomever was behind you, _would _end up next to you.

"If I can walk with one of my best friends, and still end up sitting next to my boyfriend for this whole boring endeavor, I choose door number one please," Alice said in laugh once I confronted her. "And you get to sit next to Edward, so we both win!"

On the day of our actual graduation, the sky was filled with ominous clouds, but Alice assured all of us it wasn't going to rain. I suppose it all worked out in the end then – the Cullens wouldn't have to worry about the sun coming down on their skin and lighting them all up as they received their diplomas. Graduation felt like a blur to me – I walked with a permanent smile on my face to the Pomp and Circumstance, and received my diploma with a firm handshake. But inside, all I could think about was next week.

The very next week, I was getting married.

Anytime we were required to be seated, Edward's hand found mine and held it in his lap. He seemed so calm, as if next week wasn't even…well, _next week! _Then again, Edward was over a hundred years old, and had been born into a time where courting and marriage was as common as it was revered. But I was only eighteen, and marriage was hardly common now anymore, and dating was about as revered as Burger King.

I didn't think I was having cold feet – I was very certain that I wanted to spend the rest of my lifetime with Edward Cullen. But marriage? What had blew my mind with happiness the day of the his proposal, now gave me the chills.

Once the ceremony was over, the graduates left the stage to join their families. Renee hugged and kissed me all over, while simultaneously managing to flick away endless at me with a disposable camera. Charlie murmured how lucky we were that it didn't rain, considering how dark the sky looked. In his own reserved way, I knew he was congratulating me just as much Renee was.

I didn't even really get a chance to bask in my post-graduation glory, because Alice had a whirlwind of pre-wedding plans that had to be carried out. I had to get a final fitting for my dress, we had to get the catering organized for the reception party (for the human guests of course), we had a thousands of calls to make, a million wedding practices to run-through, and apparently, I had to have a rocking bachelorette party (although I was desperately trying to avoid this last one).

Everything went over smoothly – too smoothly, I almost wished there was some drama to delay Saturday. I wanted to talk to Edward, but Alice kept him just as busy as she was keeping me. It wasn't until the night before, following my 'rocking' bachelorette party (I found myself wearing a veiled tiara, permanently red in the face, while two very hunky strippers danced around me and the rest of my female guests cheered and hooted in approval. Even Rosalie got up and did a couple of sexy turns with the strippers), that I finally got a chance to really talk to Edward. I was lying in my bed, trying to fall asleep, when I heard the soft tap on my window.

I turned around in my bed to see Edward sitting on the sill with a small smile on his face. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," I whispered.

He got up from the sill and came over to sit on the edge of my bed. "Tomorrow's the big day," he murmured.

"Yeah," I replied, albeit uncertainly.

He glanced down at me, and touched the exposed side of my face gently. "Are you having second thoughts Bella?" I saw his smile falter a bit, but he kept it up anyway. "You can be honest with me."

"Edward, I…" I paused to sit up in bed as well. "I don't know how I feel."

"You don't want to marry me?"

He sounded so sad, and I instantly frowned. "It's not that, Edward. I want to be with you, I do. But…."

"You don't want to marry me," he added quietly.

"It's not that!" I insisted in a raised tone.

There was a long break, my words marinating in the silence. "What is it then?" he asked me calmly.

I ran my hand through my hair, scratching the back of my head. "I'm scared," I whispered.

"Of what?"

"Marriage," I said in an even softer tone. "I guess I've just never imagined myself getting married. I didn't think I would meet someone that would make me want to get married. And–" I made sure to say this next part carefully "–do we really need to get married if we're already going to spend the rest of our lives together?"

Edward looked hurt again. "Me marrying you has little to do with you being changed, and everything with me being in love with you Bella. I want to make an honest woman out of you. Rosalie and Emmett, Jasper and Alice, and of course Carlisle and Esme, they aren't just living out their existences together. They're married too. Papers and all."

I stopped to think about it, and I did remember rings on the respectable fingers on every member of the Cullen family, though they were quite less ostentatious than the one Edward had bought for me.

"I just want to marry you because it feels right, because I'm in love with you, because that's what people in love do," Edward continued. "Because I want people to look at us, and see our wedding bands, and know what's going on between us, and know the bond that's between us is unbreakable."

I knew what Edward was saying made perfect sense, but my heart still beat with fear. "I want to be with you forever," I told him.

"I want to be with you forever," he replied.

"I don't want marriage to change that," I said. "With marriage, there's always the option of-" my voice broke temporarily "-divorce." I paused, looking down. "There's always a way out: an option to leave."

"That's not an option for me, Bella," Edward insisted, lifting my head gently to meet his gaze. The certainty in his eyes made me weak. "Not ever."

"You promise?" I asked him, voice quivering.

"I vow," he said in a sure tone. He pulled me into his arms and held me tightly. "You're all that matters to me now Bella. Us being married will not change it for the worse. My feelings for you could never change. I'm in love with you, and it will only ever be you."

I didn't know when the first tear fell, but I realized I was crying into Edward's shirt. But I was far from unhappy. With a deep breath, I said, "I love you too, Edward. I still a little nervous, but so long as you promise to be there at the end of the aisle, waiting for me, then being a little nervous and a little scared will pay off in the end…if it means that I can be with you forever."

"You will," he whispered. "We will. Forever."

*

"Bella, are you? … wow."

I was sitting in Alice's room, when I heard her voice coming from behind me. When I turned around, I saw three pairs of golden eyes and one set of brown like my own, staring at me in awe.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"You look gorgeous Bella," Rosalie said in a quiet voice.

Coming from Rosalie, the most gorgeous creature on the planet, this had to mean something. I blushed, "Thanks Rose."

Alice and I had decided on a strapless dress that hugged my bust and stomach, before fanning out into a flowing long skirt, covering my feet. The top half of my dress was beaded with small glistening rhinestones, as was the bottom hem of the skirt of the dress. All my hair and been swept of my shoulders and it a sleek chignon bun, a diamond hair comb tucked in for decoration. I was already wearing the veil, styled as a headband, with the covering for my face up for now, and the train hanging down behind me to the floor.

"Oh honey," Renee gushed, coming towards me, her eyes already wet with unshed tears. "You look more beautiful than I could have imagined."

"Thanks Mom," I said, giving her a quick hug.

"It's almost time to start," Alice said. "Are you ready to do this?"

"Yeah," I said slowly. "I am."

"Don't you worry about a thing with this rain. We successfully moved everything inside, no problem. Everything will run just as smoothly as it would have been if we were in the backyard."

Of course, it hadn't started raining yet, but Alice told everyone she had a hunch it would start soon. And everyone who knew better, knew to trust Alice's 'hunch'. "Thanks, Alice," I said in a grateful tone.

"It will be just like we practiced, just in case this were to happen," Alice explained. "You'll come down the staircase, all eyes on you, Charlie will be waiting at the bottom, and the two of you will walk towards the screen door were Edward will be waiting. We've set up the aisle with a white carpet, so you can't miss it."

"Right," I said with a nod. "I got it Alice. The first time you told me."

"Okay, okay, I can take a hint," she said, grinning. "You truly look amazing Bella."

I blushed. "Thanks Alice."

The women all left the room after giving me a bunch of 'you're so pretty, I'm so happy for you' expressions. I turned back to the full length mirror and took a final look at myself. I smiled at my reflection, actually feeling as beautiful as everyone said I looked. I took another deep breath before turning to leave the bedroom.

I walked down the hall, carrying my dress as to not step on it, going towards the staircase, but staying hidden from sight. Rosalie gave me a wink just before she descended down the stairs, giving me the cue that the ceremony was starting. My heart was beating a million times per second, but I tried to keep a calm exterior. Alice gave me the thumbs up just before she went down the stairs as well. I came to the top of the stairs, watching as Alice was met by Jasper and the two walked down the aisle.

All that was left Charlie.

All that was left was me.

The current music switched easily into the traditional bridal march. I took a deep breath and pulled the veil over my face, before walking slowly down the stairs. Just as Alice had predicted, everyone turned to look at me, making me blush instantly. When I reached Charlie and we linked arms, he patted the top of my arm in a fatherly way. To my surprise, I saw his eyes wet with tears.

"You look beautiful Bells," he whispered to me.

"Thank you, Dad," I murmured.

We walked the aisle slowly, as practiced. I was proud of myself for not falling, considering the amount of times I tripped over myself during practices. Everyone was looking at me with wide smiles, while taking a couple of quick snaps. They soon all became a blur when my eyes locked on with Edward's. He was standing proudly at the altar, looking nowhere else but at me, his golden eyes shining. He looked more handsome that I could have conjured up in his black suit and the attempt to calm his hair, even though it was still adorably ruffled. Once we reached the top of the aisle, Charlie let the tears fall. Just before he could give me away, I turned around and gave him a tight hug.

"I love you so much, Dad," I whispered in his ear. "And I love everything you've done for me. Thank you so much, Dad."

"I love you too, Bells," he said in a voice broken from crying. "He's a good man, and I know you'll both be so happy."

We pulled apart and I turned towards the altar, feeling the tears in my eyes as well. Edward was smiling warmly at me, and instinctively reached for my hand. I held it tightly, and he gave me a soft squeeze. 'I love you so much', he mouthed to me.

'I love you too' I mouthed back.

The wedding march faded away, and the pastor began to talk.

"Dearly beloved…"

_**Edward**_

Few things compare to the sight of Bella coming up the aisle, looking heavenly in her bridal gown, her face shielded with the wedding veil. I could see nothing else but my angel floating towards me, and once I had her hand in mine, everything felt more than complete. Once we said our 'I dos', and we could finally face each other, I raised her veil slowly.

She was crying, but there was a smile on her face. Gently, I cupped her moist cheeks and leaned down to kiss her softly. I felt her hands gripping the lapels of my suit jacket as she kissed back. The crowd began to hoot and holler behind us, although I'm pretty sure that was mainly Emmett just being loud. Bella started to giggle when she too realized it was Emmett making the most noise, before taking my hand and leading us back down the aisle and up the stairs.

"Bella, I–"

"Just a few more minutes, Edward," she said as we were at the top of the staircase. "Just a few more moments of me and you."

"It's going to be me and you for the rest of eternity," I said playfully.

She blushed. "I know, but let's have these few minutes anyway," she added before pulling me close into another passionate kiss.

We held each other for a long time, lips welded together, and I felt myself sighing through my nose out of sheer happiness. "I'm so glad we did this Edward," Bella whispered finally, pulling back from me slightly. "I'm so glad we got married."

"I'm _so _glad we got married," I echoed with emphasis.

She smiled brightly. "Okay, let's go back downstairs now."

Alice had a knowing smirk on her face as we descended the staircase, while everyone else just looked up anxiously. When they saw the smiles on our faces, they erupted into pleasant applause. Jasper and Emmett began moving the chairs around for the reception while Bella and I received our wedding gifts with smiles and stood for thousands of pictures.

The rain had started, but hardly anyone noticed. We took our wedding photos with our bridal party in front of the fireplace and on the staircase as well. Then we all sat down in the assigned seats for the reception, while several people stood up and made toasts. I held Bella's hand through the whole thing as we listened intently.

Alice: "Big brother, and new little sister, words cannot express how happy I am that this day has finally come. Eight months ago, at the start our senior year, I looked at my brother and said 'Edward, that Bella girl would be good for you'. And he kind of brushed me off and said 'yeah, right'. I bet right about now he's eating up his words as much as he's eating up this delicious wedding cake!" The crowd laughed politely, and I rolled my eyes playfully at Alice. She grinned as she continued. "Still, I never gave up on those two. It certainly wasn't easy for them to get to this point – there was a lot of high school drama along the way. But you could tell as their relationship developed, that there was something special building between them, and that a little bit of 'drama' wasn't going to stop them. And look at them now! Married! Who knew?" She paused, then laughed to herself. "I knew!" She added, making the crowd laugh again. Finally, she raised her glass. "So I toast to Edward and Bella, and wish them the lifelong happiness that they both so rightly deserve."

Everyone raised their glasses and cheered. The next person to stand up was Charlie. He cleared his throat and scratched his chin. "Uh, I'm not very good at these things–" with that everyone started to chuckle, including Bella, who then said 'you got it Dad!' "–thanks Bells." He sighed, then continued, "I've only had Bella with me for the past two years, but it was definitely the best two years of my life. Bells is my only little girl, and I love her so much. And if I had to give her away to someone, anyone, I would give her to Edward. Which is what we all witnessed today. Edward is a good guy, and when I look at him, I see the same love and affection I hold for my little girl in his eyes. I know he's the right man for my baby, and I'm glad the two of them have found each other." He now raised his glass. "So I toast to that: for them finding each other."

The glasses were raised again, along with soft murmurs of agreement for Charlie's words. A couple more people stood up and said some heartfelt words: Carlisle, Esme, Renee, Jasper, and even Rosalie said something nice – though her speech was quite short. Once Emmett sat down, there was a long pause, and I figured it was time for Bella and I to speak and to thank everyone for coming. But just as I was about to stand, there was a loud throat clearing noise from the back of the room.

Jacob started to come forward. I saw Bella's eyes light up, and heard her breath get caught in her throat.

"Uh, I don't have a glass," Jacob started.

He looked nervous. I stood up from my table and walked towards him with my glass in my hand. "Here," I said. "Take mine."

"Thanks," he said quietly. Then he turned to the crowd, clearing his throat a second time. "I will admit, I was not a fan of this relationship. I heard Alice talk about some 'high school drama', and I'm pretty sure she was talking about all the problems I caused. I didn't want to lose Bella, because…" he stopped, glancing back to look at Bella at this point, "I loved her. And I didn't think there was anyone else in this world that could love her like I did. So when she told me that she was involved with Edward, all I could think was 'what the hell? No!'."

The crowd laughed, albeit a little nervously. Jacob took another deep breath. "I did some I shouldn't have done, and I handle my jealousy in the worst of ways. I didn't want to listen to reason, or listen to her, and I drove this wedge between one of the most important people in my life. I hurt Bella, when I had convinced myself that I was the only one who couldn't."

Now the crowd went completely stone silent. Jacob turned the liquid in his glass slowly. Bella got up from the table and walked over to where he and I were standing, her eyes shiny with tears. Jacob looked down at her.

"I'm so sorry Bella, for all the pain I caused you," he whispered to her. He turned to me. "And I'm so sorry Edward, for all the pain that I caused you." Then he turned back to the crowd. "Because I realized that there was someone who could love Bella more than I did, and who _did _love Bella more than I did. And that was Edward. Edward, despite all the trouble I put him through, would not be scared away from Bella. He wouldn't leave her. And Bella, who I determinedly tried to pull away from Edward and went to the most extreme measures to do so, wouldn't leave him either. Their love was something that I couldn't break. And I realized later on, that it was something I didn't want to break. All I wanted in the world was for Bella to be happy, and she was happy with Edward."

He raised his glass shakily. "So, this is for Bella's happiness. For Edward's happiness. For new beginnings and the end of old pacts." I heard Bella gasp in shock at this point. "This is for their love, one that only comes around once or twice in our lifetime."

Everyone not only raised their glasses, but once they set them back down on the table, they started clapping heavily. Half the room was in tears. Bella was past emotional, and she left my side to throw her arms around Jacob. He returned the embrace tightly, and I saw the tears coming from his eyes as well.

"I saw the whole thing," he told her. "The wedding. Alice invited me, and I couldn't miss your big day for anything else."

"I'm just so happy you're here, Jake," she said in a shaky tone. "I'm just so happy that you're here."

Jacob looked up at me while still holding Bella. He gave me a knowing nod, to which I nodded back. And once he and Bella separated, we gave each other a firm handshake.

"Don't keep her away too long," he told me. "Now that that I've ended that old pact, there no reason for you guys to avoid coming back here."

"We'll be back before you know it," I replied. Then I turned to everyone and said, "Thank you all so much for coming, and for being with Bella and I on this special day."

"It means so much to us," Bella added, "to spend an unforgettable day like this with family and friends." She glanced up at me, her smile bright, then looked back at everyone. "But it's about time for us to start honeymooning."

"Yeah, honeymoon!" Emmett hooted loudly just before Rosalie smacked him on the shoulder, giving him a death glare.

Everyone came towards us a second time, giving us their best wishes and final goodbyes. Bella was tearful again as she said goodbye to her parents, but by the time she returned to me, her bright smile had returned.

"To Island Esme?" she asked me.

"To Island Esme." I said, returning her smile.

_**Bella**_

"It was nice that Jacob was there," I said to Edward.

We were in the plane on our way to start honeymooning. Edward leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, and a happy smile on his face. He glanced down at the sound of my voice. "It was nice that he came," he replied.

"I was really happy to see him," I continued. "And you heard what he said about that pact?" I added excitedly.

"I did," Edward said with a grin.

"I knew he'd come around," I whispered to myself. "That's my Jacob."

He put his arms around me and held me tightly. "And this is my Bella."

I returned his embrace, giving him a squeeze. "This is my Edward."

We kissed each other gently before gazing into each other's eyes. Never did I ever imagine that there would be so much love waiting for me in those honey-gold orbs of his. I pulled in for another tight hug.

"Are you happy?" he asked me.

"I am so happy," I told him. "I don't think it's possible for me to become happier than I am right now."

"Don't say that so quickly, Mrs. Cullen," he told me. "We still have eternity to spend together."

I giggled. "Right you are."

We released each other, though kept our fingers laced. After a few moments of silence, I asked, "Is it going to hurt, being changed?"

Edward was quiet for a long time, and I glanced over at him to gauge his reaction. Finally, he said, "It's going to burn. The idea is that venom starts replacing your blood, and your entire body needs to undergo a major transformation in order to sustain the venom." He paused, then added, "It might hurt Bella, but I suppose it's different for everyone. When Emmett was being changed, he seemed relatively fine. A day of burning he said, but then he was okay."

_A day of burning…_ I bit my lip thoughtfully. "I can do this."

He squeezed my hand and smiled. "I know you can."

"Right after the honeymoon, you promised," I reminded him.

"I didn't promise that," Edward said with a raised eyebrow. "I don't recall promising anything except changing you." He shrugged. "I'll change you whenever you want."

"Don't do that Edward," I said tersely.

"What are you going to do about, a small human girl like you," he teased.

I glowered at him, before hopping out of my seat and climbing into his lap, straddling him easy. He groaned at the contact, which brought a sexy grin to my face. "There's a lot of things I could do about it," I told him, lowering my eyes suggestively.

"You win," Edward muttered gruffly.

"I always win," I said knowingly.

Edward's hands came to rest on my waist. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said. "This is going to be one hell of an eternity."

"The best eternity it can be now that I have you," Edward murmured as he reached up towards me.

"The best forever now that we have each other," I added softly just before our lips met.

* * *

**Yay! Final chapter! All that follows is the dramatically short (at least, shorter than this chapter) epilogue, which I also hope you will all enjoy. Since I don't really want to leave any author notes on my epilogue, I'm going to leave them all here.**

**So thanks to everyone from now who is about to review these next two chapters, and for everyone who reviewed the previous chapters. You really helped make this story what it was, a pleasure to write (and hopefully a pleasure to read). Thank you the anonymous reviewers, who can't reply to personally:: know that I appreciate you just as much as the reviewers that I CAN reply to.**

**And finally:: thanks for all the reviews you're about to leave (or did I say that already?, lol). anyway, thanks for coming along with me for this fun ride of a story. And I hope to see you all in the future for my next fic (whenever that may be)**

**Thanks again, and enjoy the epilogue!**

**--Brin--**


	17. Epilogue, Together Forever

**Epilogue, Together Forever**

_**Edward**_

I heard the laughter coming from the kitchen, and walked in to find Bella and Edward laughing together. Bella's eyes were still red, even though it had been six months since her changing. Though I had to admit, an amber hue was starting to come through, making them lean closer to an orange than red. A few more feedings and I was pretty sure they would become a solid gold color.

I folded my arms and laughed to myself, realizing that this moment marked the final vision Alice had seen coming true. _Can't that girl ever be wrong once? _"What's so funny?" I asked them both.

Bella looked up at me, her eyes bright. "Hi sweetheart," she cooed. "Emmett was just being Emmett." She rolled her eyes. "You know him."

"I was just trying to educate Bella on the art of the good hunting," Emmett said with a shrug.

"With rather comical demonstrations," Bella added with a stifled laugh.

"Do you mind if I steal Bella for a moment?" I asked.

"Not at all," Emmett said with a grin.

Bella got up and floated towards me easily. I couldn't get over just how beautiful she looked, not to mention how easily she had adapted to the transformation. She told me that she had hardly experienced any pain, and once her transformation was complete, she didn't go into the usual newborn rage that most vampires experienced. In fact, we were able to return to Forks only a month after changing, which pleased the rest of the family. Bella wasn't even tempted by the smell of human blood – she possessed the same control as Carlisle did. It annoyed Jasper somewhat at first to see Bella have so much initial control, but Alice was quick to remind Jasper that what he went through, and what Bella's change entailed were two widely different scenarios.

I loved that Bella had retained most of her features, the only major change being that most of her best ones were heightened – the shape of her mouth, a luscious darker shade to her chestnut hair, the svelte shape of her body. As she came towards me, I met her halfway and pulled her into my arms, holding her as tightly as I wanted to – now that I was able to do so.

"What's up Edward?" she asked me.

"Nothing," I admitted. "I guess I just wanted to hold you."

Emmett let out a loud groan. "Come on, you two need to come out of this honeymoon stage. Really. It's making everyone sick."

"You're just mad because we're so much louder than you and Rosalie," Bella said teasingly.

"Hey, I draw the line at that!" Emmett said defiantly. "I could make Rosalie much louder than you Bella. Don't test me."

We both started to laugh. "Relax Emmett. Bella is obviously trying to push your buttons," I reminded him playfully.

Emmett chuckled but kept up a mock angry expression. "Just wait till she comes out of this newborn power stage. I'm going to challenge the pants off of you Bella Cullen."

"What about Bella losing her pants?" Rosalie said, coming around the corner. She sized up the situation quickly, then frowned at Emmett. "Are you checking Bella out again? Why don't you cut that out!" she added in a hiss, before turning away.

"Rose, baby, I am not checking Bella out!" Emmett said quickly, chasing after her.

Bella and I laughed again, before she pulled me closer to her. "Let's go upstairs," she whispered sexily.

"You and your sexual appetite," I teased.

"Well why don't you feed it, baby?" She said, pressing herself closer to me, her breasts soft against my chest.

"You're going to wear me out," I said as she took the lead and went towards the staircase.

"You like it," she said, glancing over her shoulder and throwing me a provocative grin.

"Yeah, you're right," I admitted. "But still–"

"Enough talk," she commanded as we came to our bedroom door. "There are other things that need to be taken care of."

"Like your sexual appetite," I said with a suggestive smile.

"Exactly," she said, pulling me into our room.

*

Bella left me lying on our broken bed, saying she was thirsty. I was used to the pattern – the need to get off, followed by the need to feed. It was cute, the way she was so all over the place: that part was reminiscent of a usual newborn. I got off our broken down bed and decided maybe I should just tossed the bed frame for now until Bella had some control over her strength.

I smiled to myself, remembering Bella on top. Her fit felt even more perfect than before, and when she thrust down on me, it was with more power that I could imagine. She left us both shaking for more, but her immeasurable strength made it impossible for her to tire out. I knew most of the time she stopped because she knew that I was the one in need of a breather. That and her constant switch of moods.

I, too, couldn't wait until the burst of newborn strength would wear off. I couldn't wait to sexually possess Bella the right way all over again.

When she came back, I was pleased to find her eyes completely golden. "Take a look in the mirror," I told her with a smile.

She went to our dresser – also broken from a spur-of-the-moment sexual endeavor, though thankfully the mirror managed to survive – and took a look. I saw her face light up at her reflection. "My eyes!"

"Congratulations, you no longer look like a freak," I said playfully.

Bella rolled her new honeyed eyes at me. I was teasing her for when she had first taken a look at herself following her transformation, when she called herself a freak when she saw her blood red eyes. Albeit, a beautiful freak.

"You forgot to say beautiful, I'm no longer a beautiful freak." She said, correcting me on my mis-quote.

"Well you're still beautiful," I said with a smile.

"You spoil me," Bella said, looking over her shoulder and returning my smile. Then she looked back in the mirror, her expression somewhat mesmerized. "I guess it's because I just took down that huge bear. Maybe I took just enough blood to make the change."

"That would have to be it," I concluded. "Though, like I said, the way you wanted to feed every second of every day, the change wouldn't be so long as it normally is."

"Everything about my transformation is just so abnormal huh," she said as she turned around to face me completely.

"Yeah, but we all liked it that way," I said, still smiling at her.

She sauntered over towards me, slipping her arms around my waist easily. I rose my eyebrow at her. "You're not trying to get in my pants _again _are you?"

She giggled. "Not yet," she answered. "I was wondering actually, if you'd think it was too soon to go see Charlie."

"Charlie, huh?" I echoed quietly.

"Well, now that my eyes are no longer freakishly red, and you know I don't get all heady over human blood, I thought it would be nice to go and see him. We've been writing back and forth all the time, you know this, and he asks about when we're finally go to come pay him a visit."

"Are you sure that you'll be able to handle it?"

"I'm sure," Bella said with a smile. "I'm ready to see him. And I really want to."

"Well then, who I am to deny you?"

She smiled brightly and tightened her embrace on me. It was almost too much to bear, her extra strength, but she let me go before I could say anything. "You're the best!" she cheered, giving me a quick kiss. "Let's go now, while I'm not hungry. Think you could be ready in twenty minutes."

"So long as you don't try to take advantage of my body again."

Her eyes rolled up and down my body slowly, and I saw the desire appearing in her eyes again. "Well, I might have to do that one more time before we go," she said in a whisper, before easing me backwards onto our bed.

_**Bella**_

I was nervous. I was pretty sure that Charlie wasn't going to notice the difference in my eyes, and I was already prepared to blame it on contacts if it came down to that. And still, I was nervous. I hadn't seen my father in six months, and I had been looking forward to this meeting since I realized that I wasn't like other newborns who lost control at the scent of human blood. I had actually come to enjoy animal blood easily, and wasn't even tempted into straying off into anything else. I had just been waiting anxiously for my eyes to change, maybe even drinking more than I needed to in order to speed up the change.

But now that the day had finally come, I couldn't stop the nerves.

"What if I've become too different, and he doesn't even recognize me?" I asked Edward, who stood behind me with a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"I've told you countless times, Bella," Edward whispered to me. "You look exactly like you always have. Heightened beauty, but still the same Bella. He'll recognize you, I promise."

"Am I allowed to tear you apart if he doesn't?" I said, not really meaning it, but wanting him to understand just how nervous I was.

"Feel free love," he said, his voice still confident. "Though I assure you, he's going to recognize you right off the back."

"Okay," I murmured. I raised my hand and knocked tentatively.

I could hear shuffling going on inside – Charlie had probably just returned from fishing, and was putting his things away before he came to the door. When I finally saw the knob turning, I held my breath.

Charlie sputtered when he saw me. His eyes were wide, and he sputtered. My eyes burned slightly, and I knew that if I could, I would have started crying. "Hi Charlie," I whispered. "I came to see you."

"Bella!" He exploded with emotion finally. His arms went around me, and though I returned the embrace, I remembered not to squeeze too tight. "I can't believe you're here. I'm so glad that you're here. Finally, my baby girl, you're back!"

"Just visiting, Dad," I told him. I didn't think I should get Charlie too comfortable with the idea of me being here all the time.

"Whatever, doesn't matter," he said excitedly. "I'm just so glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you too, Dad," I whispered.

He finally pulled away from me and turned to Edward. "Edward," he said, stretching out his hand. "Good to see you too, son,"

Edward shook his hand, and I couldn't wait until I could get some control on my strength to make physical contact without worrying about hurting people. "Good to see you too, Dad," Edward said with a grin.

"How long are you guys in town?" Charlie asked.

"Just for a little," I said quickly, not sure of what Edward was going to say. "We're only staying a night actually, before we go back to Europe." I had told Charlie that I was thinking of continuing my education in Europe in the letters I had sent him. "I'm trying to narrow down my choices for the new fall semester."

"Sounds good Bells," Charlie said, running a hand over his head "So everything has been going well then?"

"Just perfect, Dad," I told him.

"Great, great," Charlie replied. He looked me up and down. "You look good Bells."

"Thanks, Dad. You look good too."

"Ah," Charlie waved me off. "I'm getting old."

I laughed to myself at how I certainly was not. "Well you look good for an old guy," I told him.

"Oh Bells," Charlie's eyes lit up for a moment. "Hey! You should go see Jacob! He asks for you from time to time, whenever I'm over the Blacks' place."

I glanced back at Edward, gauging his reaction. He didn't seem upset by the idea, so I turned to Charlie and said, "Yeah, that is a good idea. I would love to pop in and see Jacob."

"Okay Bells." He came forward and gave me another tight squeeze. "I'm so glad you came by. Stop by again before you leave for Europe, okay?"

"Sure thing, Dad."

When we left my old home, Edward drove us towards La Push. He paused at the city limits from being so used to doing so. I took his hand and gave him a light squeeze. "We can go, remember? Jacob said."

"Yeah I know," he murmured. "And I do have my super-powered, sexy wife by my side just in case things go wrong," he added in a teasing voice.

"Nothing is going to go wrong," I told him.

He started the car again and ploughed forward. I directed him to Jacob's house, and as we pulled up, I saw Jacob rushing out of his front door. I waited for Edward to come to a complete stop before I came out of the vehicle and rushed towards him.

"The rest of my pack saw you two coming over!" he said excitedly as the gap between us closed. "I can't believe you're here!"

Again, I had to restrain myself in the hug, but it was harder this time. I certainly didn't expect to see Jacob this happy to see me. Somehow I thought some of the malice from long ago would carry over when he finally saw me as a full vampire. But the look in Jacob's eyes reflected nothing but sheer happiness.

"You look good, Bells," Jacob said slowly, taking a couple of steps back. "Really good."

I played with him: "Are you trying to hit on a vampire?"

He frowned instinctively. "Not that good."

I laughed at him. "Right, I'm sure."

"You know, I always knew you were here," Jacob admitted. "You know my pack has complete surveillance on this entire place. I was just wondering when you'd finally come around to see me."

"When she stopped looking like a freak," Edward said jokingly.

I rolled my eyes at Edward, but then turned back to Jacob. "It's so nice to see you Jacob," I told him.

"It's nice to see you too, Bells," Jacob replied.

"I'm not staying long," I told him. "I just went to see Charlie, and he suggested I come and see you, so–" I shrugged. "–here I am."

"Well I'm glad you came," Jacob said.

We had a long silent exchange, before I finally stepped forward and gave Jacob another hug. "You need to keep in touch with me better, Bells," Jacob whispered. "I would appreciate it a lot."

"Okay," I whispered back. "I can do that."

"Good," he said, patting me on the back.

We let go of each other, slowly, and I turned back to Edward. He was waiting patiently by the car. I noticed him and Jacob have a silent exchange similar to the one I had just shared with him, before Edward climbed back into the car. I got into the passenger side, closing the door behind me.

"You okay, sweetheart?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah I am."

"You did really well Bella," Edward told me. "I think you could assimilate back into your old life sooner than you think, even with having all that extra strength."

I smiled brightly. "Think so?" The idea alone was enough to warm my whole body with glee.

"Yeah, I do," Edward said with a nod.

I leaned over and gave him a soft kiss. "You always know what to say."

"Is that why you love me?"

"That and so much more," I replied.

He took my hand and placed a light kiss atop my knuckles. Then, he started the car, pulled away from Jacob's house and drove us back home.

*

_Alice: I wanted my brother to be happy, and now he finally is. And I got a new best friend in the process! What's better than that? Together forever is perfect, and I bet they never imagined it to be like this in a million years._

_Good thing I knew better._


End file.
